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SERMONS 



FOR THE PEOPLE 



BY 



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T.H. STOCKTON. 



■636, 



/ 



SECON D EDITION, 



PITTSBURGH: 
A. H. ENGLISH & CO. PUBLISHERS 

No. 79 WOOD STKEET. 
1854. 



WASMIMOTO*3 O 75^5 ^ ' 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Maryland. 



W. S. HAVEN, 

Stereotyper and Printer, 

PITTSBURGH, PA, 



MY FATHER, 



AS A TOKEN OP CONSTANTLY INCREASING AFFECTION: 
TO THE 

METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH, 

AS A MEMORIAL OF DENOMINATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS: 
AND TO 

ALL WHO LOVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, 

AS AN HUMBLE EXPRESSION OF AEDENT DESIEE TO BE IDENTIFIED WITH 
THEM, ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN: 



rig ®clttm£ 



IS RESPECTFULLY AND PRAYERFULLY INSCRIBED 
BY 



THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS 



SERMON I. 

Christ Crucified, Page 9 

" For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ 
crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto 
them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom 
of God." ICoa. i: 22-4. 

SERMON II. 
Christ Crucified— concluded, ........ 33 

SERMON III. 

Character and Relations of the Christian Ministry, ... 67 
"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants 

for Jesus' sake." 2 Cor. iv : 5. 

SERMON IV. 

The Riches of Heaven, .90 

K For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for 

your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.'' 2 Cor. viii : 9. 

SERMON V. 
The Young Ruler, 109 

"What lack I yet?" Matt, xix: 20. 

SERMON VI. 

Character and Destiny of the Just, 140 

" The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the 
perfect day." Prov. iv: 18. 

SERMON VII. 
Life and Immortality, 159 

" Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through 
the gospel." 2 Tim. i: 10. 

SERMON VIII. 
A New Year's Sermon, 179 

"What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the 
cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the 
Lord now in the presence of all his people." Ps, cxvi : 12-14 



VI CONTENTS. 

SERMON IX. 

The Claims of the Gospel, 198 

" Worthy of all acceptation." 1 Tim. i : 15. 

SERMON X. 

A Christmas Sermon, 222 

"Glory to God." Luke, ii: 14. 

SERMON XI. 

The Inspiration op the Scriptures, 238 

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God." 2 Tim. iii: 16. 

SERMON XII. 
The Only Saving Name, 266 

" Neither is there salvation in any other : for there is none other name under heaven 
given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts, iv : 12. 

SERMON XIII. 
Love: 1. The Apostle — Nothing without Love, .... 299 
" Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am 
become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." 1 Cor. xiii: 1. 

SERMON XIV. 
Love: 2. The Prophet — Nothing without Love, .... 317 

"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and have not love. I am nothing." 1 Cor. 
xiii: 2. 

SERMON XV. 
Love: 3. The Teacher — Nothing without Love, .... 332 

" And though I understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and have not love, I am 
nothing." 1 Cor. xiii: 2. 

SERMON XVI. 
Good News from a Far Country, . . . ... . . 352 

"As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." Prov. xxv: 25. 

SERMON XVII. 

The Destruction of Death, 379 

"For the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Cor. xv : 26. 



PKEFACE 



Last autumn, while in Pittsburgh, the ministerial brother who appears as 
one of the publishers suggested to me the propriety of printing, or having 
printed, a volume of my sermons — proposing a very efficient interest in it, on 
his own part. Soon after, the business firm, now united with him in the 
enterprise, proffered an arrangement promising to be still more efficient, and, 
at the same time, to relieve me from all responsibility and care, except as to 
the contents of the work. For various reasons, these applications seemed to be 
opportune interventions of an ever-watchful and ever-gracious Providence: 
and, therefore, though utterly unexpected, I consented to the plan, and pro- 
ceeded to co-operate with my friends in its consummation. The book herewith 
submitted is the result 

And now— what kind of a book is it? Others are accountable for whatever 
opinions they may please to express concerning it; but, according to my own 
consciousness, the chief facts are the following: 

1. It is not an artistic book — at least, in the sense of conforming studiously, 
patiently, and skillfully, to any original or adopted model or models. I never 
made a model — never sought a model — never prepared a sermon in this way. 

2. It is a book which owes its origin and character to simple natural and 
spiritual impulses — every sermon in it starting as a spring starts from the hill- 
side, and flowing on according to the unforeseen provision of the most conve- 
nient channel. 

3. It is a very miscellaneous book — showing no regularly sustained prefe- 
rence for any class of subjects, mode of discussion, or peculiarities of style. 
Certain discourses, remembered in the locality where the project arose, were 
specially called for, and a few of these are given. They were desired "as they 
were delivered:" and this fact, with the want of time, prevented any conside- 
rable alteration of them. Of the whole number, only four have been re-written 
for this publication : and of these four, only one has been much enlarged or 
improved. So far as the assumption of subjects is concerned, some of these 
productions date back to the first year of my ministry — a quarter of a century 
since, when just out of my boyhood. Others belong to the last two or three 
years. Two of them have been previously printed. 

4t. Of course, it is a book without pretensions — except of the most modest 
kind. There is no learning in it — according to the ordinary professional under- 
standing of the term: for the simple reason — which I greatly regret, though 
not without excuse — that there is none in the author himself. It is the mere 
mind and heart of an English reader and American thinker — with the Bible 
and the world open before him, and somewhat, he humbly trusts, of the piteous 
help of the Holy Spirit within him. It comes unostentatiously to the homes 

(vii) 



Vlll PREFACE. 

and sympathies of the people — especially of such as believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and are anxious, above all things, to love and serve him, and so find 
their way to a perfect and imperishable heaven. 

5. It is not, in all respects, such a book as I should have chosen to issue, if 
my own wishes alone had been consulted, and leisure had been allowed for 
more deliberate selection and adjustment. Still, it may do as much good as 
any other I could have furnished. But, my specific meaning is this. The 
most of my sermons, perhaps, are serials. Indeed, about half of those here 
presented belong to nearly as many different series. One of these series com- 
prises thirty sermons — discussing the whole of the thirteenth chapter of First 
Corinthians. The best of my manuscripts — if any of them have any worth — 
are in this form — including, severally, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty 
sermons : being more or less extended, as the channel windings have invited 
the onflow of truth from the heights of revelation to the expansions of society ; 
whence the Father, like the sun, and Christ, like the cloud, and the Spirit, 
like the wind, are always sure to bear all truth back again, renewed in fresh- 
ness and purity, and without the waste of a drop. Trusting that this sudden 
natural association has not betrayed me into any irreverence, I return to the 
insignificance of my own instrumentality by saying, that my own choice would 
probably have been in favor of a volume of serial sermons — as, for instance, 
one on the Mediation of Christ ; or, the Authority of the Bible ,• or, the Excel- 
lency of Christianity; or, the Gospel as the Power of God unto Salvation; or, 
the Supremacy of Love: or some other similafrly important subject — so 
securing a more homogeneous and equal issue. Still, as already intimated, 
this, for the present, may be better. 

And now, I can only pray God to prevent the book from doing harm, and 
grant, if it can be so, that it may be blest in the accomplishment of some good. 
He has honored me with various classes of friends, who, I fear, are more 
sympathetic with me than with each other. I allude to Methodists, to isolated 
Independents, to co-operative Independents, and to Christian Unionists and 
Reformers of various denominations. Can I hope to please all by such a book 
as this? Why not? Let us all draw nearer to Christ, and so come nearer 
to each other. 

T. H. S. 

Baltimore, July 24, 1854. 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

The author desires to make some grateful acknowledgment of the blessing 
of Providence, and the kindness of his friends, as manifest in the warm welcome 
and quick exhaustion of the first edition of his book. It has been in his heart 
to do something more than this — to accompany the second edition with certain 
corrective and illustrative notes: but there is no time for such preparations. 
He can only commend the volume again to the goodness of God and the favor 
of his people. 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED; 

AS REGARDED BY JEWS, GREEKS, AND CHRISTIANS. 



"For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but 
we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto 
the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which are called, both Jews and 
Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." — 1 Cor. 
Ch. i:. 22, 23, 24. 

The subject thus presented, is of universal, perpetual, 
and incomparable interest. It has been chosen, in good 
hope, through grace, that the opening of it may be the 
means of instant, enduring, and saving influence. And 
so — may our due attention to it be accompanied by 
the best blessing of "the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost." Amen. 

I propose, 

1. A Summary Scriptural and Historical Rehearsal of 

the Apostolic Proclamation. 

2. A Review, more at large, of its Reputed Feeble- 

ness and Folly : and 

3. A Closing Contemplation of its Real and Divine 

Power and Wisdom. 

I. THE APOSTOLIC PROCLAMATION. 

The most important particulars, in this wonderful 
announcement, are the following : 

1. The Nature of Christ: 

2. The Expectation of Christ: 

3. The Advent of Christ: 

(9) 



10 CHKIST CRUCIFIED. 

4. The Person of Christ : 

5. The Character of Christ : 

6. The Death of Christ : and, 

7. The Design of the Death of Christ. 

1. As to the nature of Christ — herein, it is con- 
fessed, is the chief mystery of the series. "Without 
controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God 
was manifest in the flesh." It is not strange, that being 
thus manifest, He should be "justified in the Spirit, 
seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on 
in the world, received up into glory." Rather, these 
things succeed, as matters of course. But, that God 
should reveal himself, personally and permanently, in 
the flesh — this is the mystery. 

Still, it is certain, that the Apostles proclaimed Christ 
as a Being divine as well as human ; uniting in himself 
all the original and essential attributes of Godhead and 
manhood. This proclamation, however, involved the 
disclosure of another mystery — a distinction in the 
Divine nature ; the distinction of Father and Son, or, 
as fully stated, in the perfect and infinitely sacred 
Christian formula — the distinction of Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost. In accordance with this distinction, the 
manifestation in the flesh was reported as confined to 
the person of the Son. Here, then, is the whole mys- 
tery in regard to the nature of Christ. It is a two-fold 
mystery — that he is God and man ; and that, in each 
relation, he is a Son — the Son of God, and the Son of 
man. So, substantially, the Apostles proclaimed him, 
to their latest breath. And so, in the records of their 
inspiration, and in his name, and by his authority, 
they continue, unto this day, to challenge the faith of 
the world. 

I have used the qualifying term, substantially, for the 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 11 

sake of agreement, as far as practicable, with all who 
admit that the Apostolic proclamation inclnded, in any 
form, the divinity of Christ. Some Trinitarians prefer 
to distinguish the Divine nature of Christ by the title 
of the Word, restricting the title of Son entirely to his 
human nature. It is remarkable, however, that in the 
only instance in which this form occurs — "the Father, 
the Word, and the Holy Ghost," — it is generally con- 
ceded to be an interpolation, even by the most orthodox 
critics. To my own mind, the two titles appear equiv- 
alent and interchangeable — the Word being the name 
of the Son of God, as Jesus is the name of the Son 
of man. 

Without pausing to expand this topic, as it might be 
expanded, it must suffice to say, that human sonship, 
however mysterious, is an indisputable fact; that, 
therefore, Divine Sonship is a philosophical faith ; that 
the union of the Divine and human natures in a two- 
fold Sonship, is equally philosophical; and that it were 
quite as reasonable to deny the fact first stated, as to 
deny either of the propositions which follow it. Of 
course, Christ, as the Son of God, is like his Father — 
equally divine ; and, as the Son of man, is like his 
mother, or his earthly ancestry in whole — equally 
human. So, at least, the subject now appears. 

It may be well, in passing, to notice these facts : — 
that, often as the foregoing titles are found in the New 
Testament, our Saviour never applied the higher one 
to himself, except on a few extraordinary occasions; 
while, on the other hand, not even in a single instance, 
did his Apostles address him by the lower one. The 
exceptions alluded to, on our Saviour's part, are exceed- 
ingly interesting. Take the three following : — On one 
occasion, he made a most impressive distinction be- 



12 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

tween his two natures, and two titles, in relation to 
two of His most important offices. "Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when 
the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God ; and 
they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life 
in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in 
himself." This agrees exactly with what the same 
Evangelist records of the "Word — "In him was life; 
and the life was the light of men." It is the Son of 
God, or the Word, who has life in himself, even as the 
Father has life in himself; and, therefore, is qualified 
to impart life, to quicken the dead, to cause the resur- 
rection. "And," proceeds our Saviour, "hath given 
him authority to execute judgment also, because he is 
the Son of man." See! here is a change — a change 
of office, and a corresponding change of title. As 
first stated, he has power to raise the dead, because he 
is the Son of God : and, as next stated, he has " author- 
ity to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of 
man." On the other occasions referred to, the excep- 
tions occurred in reply to inquiries as to his being the 
Christ ; one of them proceeding from the people, and the 
other from the Sanhedrim — both of them of great mo- 
ment. In the first instance, being yet at liberty, "Jesus 
walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came 
the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long 
dost thou make us to doubt ? If thou be the Christ, tell 
us plainly." The answer, after a little admonition, was 
this : — " I and my Father are one," or, as presently inter- 
preted, "I am the Son of God." Twice during this 
avowal, though they had drawn it from him by their own 
solicitations, the Jews attempted to stone him. In the 
other instance, being under arrest, and in the presence 
of the Council, the high priest "said unto him, I adjure 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 13 

thee, by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou 
be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, 
Thou hast said;" and, having thus completed his testi- 
mony before the Jewish nation, repeating to its highest 
authorities what he had previously declared to the pop- 
ulace, he turned immediately to his preferred title, 
adding — "Nevertheless, I say unto you, hereafter shall 
ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of 
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." The 
result, in this case, was his instant condemnation, as 
"guilty of death," and the cruel abuse of his holy 
person. 

"With such exceptions, Christ called himself the Son 
of Man. His Apostles, however, frequently styled him 
the Son of God ; never, as already mentioned, address- 
ing him by the former title. Why was this difference ? 
The fact was duly stated, in each form : but why this 
habitual preference, by each party, of one title to the 
other ? Let it not be considered irreverent, if, in part, 
I humbly answer thus. To me, there seems to be some- 
thing, on both sides, like the natural sentiment of 
wonder, excited by the novelty of the circumstances. 
On this supposition, to Christ himself the wonder was, 
that he, who had been known, adored, and worshipped 
from the beginning of the creation, as the Son of 
God, in heaven, should thus obscurely dwell, as the 
Son of man, on earth ! To the Apostles, however, who 
were sadly familiar with the degradation of our own 
nature, the wonder was, that one in the guise of the 
Son of man, should be, in reality, the Son of God ! 
Strange !— even Christ might think — that I, the Son of 
God, should be the Son of man ! Strange ! — his Apos- 
tles might muse — that he, the Son of man, should be 
the Son of God ! "With all the magnificent contempla- 



14 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

tions and reminiscences of eternity thronging his mind, 
in constant contrast to the little things of time, attract- 
ing his senses — to Christ himself, his passing humilia- 
tion may have been far more impressive than his former 
proper and exclusive pre-eminence. To his Apostles, 
on the contrary, who knew nothing of the spiritual 
world but by faith and fancy, the more subduing sen- 
sation was awakened by the ascending and peerless 
relations of the homeless pilgrim, whom they acknowl- 
edged as their Lord and Master, to the kingdom, throne 
and bosom of the God and Father of all. The feeling 
is the same, though differently excited, and varying in 
its degrees of clearness and power. Behold ! I, the con- 
scious Son of God, am, indeed, the Son of man! 
Behold ! Jesus, the Son of man, must be the Son of God ! 
It may be, moreover, that Christ made these com- 
mon references to his humanity, in part at least, to 
forestall, by his own authority, the heresies which he 
must have known would soon arise in this relation. 
His Apostles, being destitute of this foreknowledge, 
did not then appreciate this reason. Their Master was 
still with them, and they, and the world, saw him daily, 
in all the ordinary conditions of humanity, except sin. 
So far, no instance is recorded, even of doubt in regard 
to his true manhood. Before the close of the Apostolic 
age, however, this fact was not only doubted, but 
denied ; on which account, the writings of John, the 
last of the inspired authors, are distinguished by so 
many and such decided corrections of the error. But, 
from the very beginning, it was necessary for the elect 
witnesses of Christ to be qualified to assert the divinity 
of their Lord; for this, notwithstanding the public 
demonstrations of it, was generally rejected. There- 
fore, prior to the crucifixion, Peter was prepared, by 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 15 

acknowledged revelation from the Father, to affirm :-— 
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God;" and 
again, in more obvious comprehension of his official 
associates — "We believe, and are sure, that thou art 
that Christ, the Son of the living God." In like man- 
ner, long afterward, John testified that — "Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God;" and that, whatever mysteries 
may attend the relation, "He is antichrist, that denieth 
the Father and the Son" — that is, he is against the 
whole doctrine of the Christ; denies that there ever 
was, is, or can be such a being as the Christ ; who denies 
the distinction between the Father and the Son ; for, if 
there be no Son, there is no Christ. And so, it is 
reported of Paul, the author of our text, that, as soon 
as he was converted, "he preached Christ in the syna- 
gogues," and, especially, "that he is the Son of God." 
In the same spirit, he subsequently wrote to the Romans 
confessing that Christ "was. made of the seed of David, 
according to the flesh.;" but adding, nevertheless, that 
he was "declared to be the Son of God with power, 
according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection 
from the dead." True, the world objected then, as it 
still objects, to this doctrine of the union of divinity 
and humanity ; but the Apostle carefully guarded the 
churches against its scepticism, saying, as in his epistle 
to the Colossians — "Beware, lest any man spoil you, 
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition 
of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after 
Christ. For" — he continued, taking advantage of the 
occasion to re-assert the great and glorious truth with 
the utmost possible distinctness and emphasis — "For 
in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead, bodily." 
Indeed, similar passages are so numerous, so clear, so 
strong, and so conclusive, that, were it not for claims 



16 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

on our respect which cannot be charitably or even justly 
resisted, we should not hesitate to declare, that doubting 
implies ignorance, and denial is blasphemy. As it is, 
we pity our common nature, and cherish love, and pray 
for light. 

2. As to the expectation of Christ — even a slight 
acquaintance with sacred and profane history is sufficient 
to assure us that such a sentiment had prevailed, uni- 
versally among the Jews, and to a considerable extent 
among the Gentiles, for ages before the time of the 
Apostles. Nothing is easier than to account for this 
fact. It was the natural consequence of the course of 
divine revelation. The Christ was first announced to 
our first parents — the parents of all living — and so be- 
came the traditional hope of all nations. In the new 
world, the promise was repeated to Abraham — the 
father, not indeed of all nations, but still, of a multitude 
of nations; the Ishmaelites, Edomites, Israelites, and 
others, all of whom cherished and diffused the glorious 
intelligence. Abraham, himself, it must be remem- 
bered, was a Missionary of Eevelation — passing from 
Chaldea to Mesopotamia, and thence to Canaan, to 
Egypt, and to Canaan again, as the friend and witness 
of the Almighty. In after times, when the Kingdom 
of Israel was firmly established, the promise was re- 
newed to David, and so became an element of great 
strength in the perpetual devotion of the people to his 
royal house, and an occasion of no little jealousy to the 
authorities which superseded it, whether native or for- 
eign. Besides the promise, however, a vast variety of 
corresponding anticipations of Christ, both typical and 
prophetical, accumulated among the Jews, and, by their 
agency, either active or passive, became more or less 
known to the whole world. By the original captivity 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 17 

in Egypt; by the exodus from Egypt; by the sojourn 
in the desert ; by the invasion and occupancy of Canaan ; 
by the formation of political alliances ; by the extensions 
of commerce ; by voluntary migrations ; by the captiv- 
ity and dispersion of the Ten Tribes ; by the captivity 
and return of Judah ; by the multiplication of colonies 
in all lands, with their peculiarities of language, wor- 
ship, and periodical returns to the Temple at Jerusalem : 
by the researches of philosophic pilgrims, within the 
limits of the Hebrew language and literature ; by the 
circulation of the Septuagint version of the Holy Scrip- 
tures ; and by all the subsequent commingling of nations 
consequent upon the alternations of Egyptian, Greek 
and Roman ascendency — the original announcement, 
and many of its successive confirmations and illustra- 
tions, were made the common heritage of our speculative 
race. 

As the moment drew near for the rise of " the Sun 
of Righteousness," the horizon flushed and flashed with 
rosy suffusions and radiant scintillations. a For about 
eighty years before the birth of Christ," says one of the 
best historians, "the world became filled with prophe- 
cies of all sorts:" among which "were several which 
foretold the coming of the Messiah, and the greatness, 
bliss, and righteousness of his kingdom." * It is a 
grave historic record, that — "After Pompey captured 
Jerusalem, about forty-three years before the Christian 
era, it was believed at Rome, that the Jews would pro- 
duce, or, as Suetonius informs us on the authority of 
Julius Marathus, that nature was about to bring forth 
a king ; and the historian adds, that the Senate passed 
a decree, that no child born that year should be brought 



* Prideaiix's Connexion, vol. 2, p. 404. 
2 



18 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

up, but that those who drew the prophecy to themselves 
defeated the decree." * The attempt to draw the 
prophecy to themselves was made, indeed, by many; 
from the chief men in Rome to the humblest marauders 
in Judea. Julius Caesar lost his life in an effort which 
he sought to strengthen by this prediction. Lentulus 
idly leaned on the same mystic support. " At the birth 
of Augustus," remarks the same authority just cited, 
" flattery directed the expectations of men to him, as 
to the predicted King ; and a similar adulation contin- 
ued to apply the descriptions, which were derived from 
traditions, from the Scriptures, and from intercourse 
with the Jews, to his offspring, long after the birth of 
Christ." Herod, the Great, also exhibited various Mes- 
sianic pretensions ; and had a party to sustain him in 
them, not only at Jerusalem, but likewise at Rome. 
Theudas, Judas of Galilee, and others, retiring to the 
deserts, raised the same banner, and endeavored to 
rally the people around it. Moreover, it is worthy of 
observation, though somewhat beyond our proper range, 
that the Jews, notwithstanding their rejection of the 
true Messiah, ventured upon their last war in hope of 
the fulfillment of this prophecy; and that their cele- 
brated historian, Josephus, saved his life, or at least 
procured his liberty, and so found facilities for com- 
posing his works, by applying the same prediction to 
Vespasian, their conqueror. 

In the New Testament, and particularly in the Gos- 
pels, incidental illustrations of this topic are everywhere 
observable. In Elizabeth's salutation, in Mary's thanks- 
giving, and in the prophecy of Zacharias ; in Simeon's 
blessing, and in Anna's acknowledgment; in the wise 

* Gray's Connection, vol. 1,pp- 243-4. 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 19 

men's search, in Herod's trouble, and in the Council's 
answer; in the appearance of John the Baptist, in 
the multitudes that attended his ministry, and in the 
priestly mission to inquire into his claims ; in the special 
statement, that "the people were in expectation, and 
all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were 
the Christ or not;" in the appearance of Jesus, proclaim- 
ing — "The time is fulfilled," and the great multitudes 
which thronged his path ; in the tidings from Andrew 
to Simon, and from Philip to Nathaniel; in the con- 
fession of Nathaniel ; in the inquiry of the two disciples 
of John ; in the statement of the woman of Samaria ; 
in the persuasion of the people of Samaria ; in the de- 
sire of the Galileans to make Jesus their king; in the 
prayer of the woman of Canaan, and the cry of the 
blind beggars, and the shouts of the triumphal proces- 
sion, and the chan tings of the children in the temple to 
the "Son of David;" in the demand of the people to 
be delivered from doubt; in their opinion of the law, 
in relation to Christ ; in the reference of the Apostles 
to the teachings of the scribes, on the same subject; in 
our Saviour's warnings against false Christs; in the 
high-priest's adjuration; in Pilate's examination; in 
Herod's mockery ; in the dying request of the penitent 
thief; in the taunts and jeers of the mob about the 
cross; in the character of Joseph of Arimathea, "who 
also, himself, waited for the Kingdom of God;" in the 
sad reminiscence of the two disciples, on their way to 
Emmaus — "We trusted that it had been he which 
should have redeemed Israel"— as though constrained 
to conclude that they were doomed to another and un- 
equalled disappointment; in all these, and in other 
instances, and their various connexions, may be found 
abundant disclosures of the prevailing expectation, not 



20 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

only on the part of the Jews themselves, but, also, 
among the strangers with them, and the nations around 
them. The simple truth, of course, is, that it was the 
right time for the expectation to become prevalent. 
Therefore, says Paul, in regard to both the birth and 
death of Christ — "When the fullness of the time was 
come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made 
under the law :" — " When we were yet without strength, 
in due time Christ died for the ungodly." 

Such intimations, though not complete, and though 
most of them do not attain to the true dignity of the 
nature of Christ, may yet suffice in this connexion. To 
my own mind, there is great interest in this point. 
"What shall this man do ? " said Peter to Christ, after 
the resurrection, and in relation to John. "Jesus saith 
unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is 
that i^p thee ? Follow thou me." From this reply, the 
disciples inferred, though Jesus did not say it, that John 
would never die— that he would live on earth until the 
Second Advent. Here, it may be, is one of the occa- 
sions of the mysterious fiction of the Wandering Jew ; 
a story so readily made impressive, and which is com- 
monly traced to a sadder source. In fact, so fugitive 
is our present condition, such frequent and startling 
incidents prompt the cry — "what shadows we are, and 
what shadows we pursue ! " — that the thought of any 
intelligent agent surviving many human generations, 
and remaining continually connected with the affairs 
of the world, cannot be otherwise than impressive. 
But how much more so, than in any other imaginable 
case, is the contemplation of the real Christ — the Son 
of the living God ! It seems, however, that the expec- 
tation of Christ, instead of transcending the promise, 
did not equal its divine grandeur. The Gentiles may 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 21 

not have expected even an immortal Christ. Perhaps 
the Jews, generally speaking, notwithstanding an oppo- 
site indication already alluded to, did not expect an 
immortal Christ. ""We all expect" — said Trypho, in 
the dialogue with Justin Martyr — "that Christ will be 
a man born of human parents." So it may have been 
with most of his countrymen, prior to the coming of 
Christ. Therefore, they may have judged that Christ, 
like his parents, and within similar limits, would be 
naturally subject to death. Moreover, as to the pre- 
existence of Christ, it is probable that this doctrine was 
nearly lost in their ordinary worldly misconceptions and 
aspirations. And yet, surely, such of them as were at 
all spiritual must have had higher notions. Such of 
them as were familiar with the Holy Scriptures, must 
have understood the matter more worthily. Indeed, the 
cases already specified involve various proofs of this 
fact. Certain it is, that the Scriptures themselves soar 
infinitely above all merely natural views. Certain it is, 
that they represent Christ as one of whom it is not too 
much to say, "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place 
in all generations. Before the mountains were brought 
forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, 
even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." 
Certain it is, that the expectation of Christ, excited by 
them, however much it became perverted and reduced, 
was designed to have all the impressiveness about it 
derived from the contemplation of a being "whose 
goings forth have been from of old, from the days of 
eternity;" and who survives and superintends not only 
many but all generations. This is the true view — a 
view unutterably magnificent and splendid. Here is 
the contrast, the grand contrast, the divine contrast, to 
all the ephemeral phenomena of human existence — the 



22 CHEIST CRUCIFIED. 

original, universal, and perpetual personal sympathy; 
the frequent personal appearance, and final personal 
and permanent manifestation in the fiesh, of the Son 
and Heir of God, "the Image and Glory of God," "the 
brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image 
of his person." So, at last, the Apostles, to their great 
surprise, and assured joy, came clearly and fully to un- 
derstand it. Their faith died with the Son of man, but 
rose again with the Son of God — like him, to live for- 
ever. Then they went forth, not only to take advantage 
of the expectation of Christ, but to proclaim its proper 
character — to correct and exalt the sentiments of all who 
entertained it. As Paul declared to the Athenians, 
the "unknown God" whom they ignorantly worshipped, 
so all the Apostles declared, to both Jews and Gentiles, 
the Unknown Christ whom they ignorantly expected. 
They appealed to the Inspired Records of the promises, 
types, and prophecies of Christ ; explaining and applying 
them with infallible precision and irresistible power. 
In accordance with these, they represented Christ as 
the one whom "Moses," and "all the prophets, from 
Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have 
spoken, have likewise foretold," the one worthy to be, 
not only the "Hope of Israel," but, also, "the Desire 
of all nations;" speaking "peace unto the heathen," 
and having "his dominion from sea to sea, and from 
the river to the ends of the earth." 

3. As to the advent of Christ — the Apostles pro- 
claimed this, with the utmost solemnity, every day, in 
every presence, at every risk, as a fact of which they 
were personal and fully qualified witnesses. They 
averred that they had been his disciples, had heard his 
instructions and seen his works ; had communed with 
him under all circumstances, long and intimately, and 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 23 

were acting as his chosen and anointed embassadors. 
They could all say, in the language of John, " That 
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, 
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have 
looked upon, and which our hands have handled, of 
the Word of Life ; (for the Life was manifested, and we 
have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that 
eternal life which was with the Father, and was mani- 
fested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard 
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship 
with us ; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, 
and with his Son Jesus Christ." Even Paul himself, 
though after the ascension, was converted by a personal 
interview with Christ, and, therefore, he also was en- 
abled to affirm that he had seen the Lord, and heard 
his voice, and received the Gospel from his lips, and 
been invested by his hands, with the Apostolical office. 
At the same time, they announced that the great fact 
to which they thus testified was not confined to their 
own observation, but was abundantly demonstrated, 
during a succession of years, in the presence of the 
whole nation to which they belonged, and of the myriads 
of strangers constantly within its limits. I need not 
say more on this topic. 

4. As to the person of Christ, the Apostles referred, 
always and only, to Jesus of Nazareth. With full knowl- 
edge of the history of his life, they reported it freely and 
frankly; making no questionable effort to conceal or 
misrepresent any part of it. They dwelt not, with 
exclusive boasting, on the indications of his divinity, 
but blended with these all the tokens of his humanity. 
They published as faithfully his voluntary poverty, and 
lowly associations, and bodily and spiritual sufferings;: 
as they did, the infinitude of his resources, and the 



24 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

instant submission of heaven and earth to his com- 
mands. They were as prompt to repeat his plaintive 
saying, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air 
have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay 
his head," as they were to describe how his countenance 
kindled and glowed with the glory of the Son of God, 
when he said, "In my Father's house are many man 
sions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go 
to prepare a place for you." They stated as readily, if 
not as cheerfully, that the tears of humanity streamed 
from his eyes, at the tomb of Lazarus ; as they did, that 
the voice of divinity issued from his lips, and awoke 
the dead to life. In a word, judging their preaching 
by the specimens recorded in the book of Acts, as 
well as by the general character of the Gospels and Epis- 
tles, they told the whole story of the humble Nazarene, 
with perfect simplicity and candor — its reproach, as 
well as its honor ; its afflictions, as well as its triumphs — 
always, however, insisting upon it, as a fact so firmly 
established in their convictions that they would attest 
its reality even unto death, that this same Jesus 
was the Christ. So Peter, on the day of Pentecost, in 
the midst of Jerusalem, cut thousands to the heart 
when he closed his sermon with the convicting and 
criminating cry — " Therefore, let all the house of Israel 
know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, 
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." And 
so Paul "confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damas- 
cus," (and everywhere else, as it might be added), 
"proving that this is the very Christ." 

Here, if it could be done within due limits, I should 
delight to enlarge. Never before was such a work 
undertaken ; never before were such results achieved. 
It was nothing less than the moral conquest of the 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 25 

world. I have reviewed the Acts and the Epistles, 
more carefully than ever, on purpose to ascertain, more 
distinctly than ever, the course which the Apostles 
pursued. I can only remark now, that, amidst all the 
varieties of their natural and supernatural action, it is 
particularly interesting to witness the form and effect 
of their logic, the irresistible force and influence of 
their inspired reasoning. I allude chiefly to the exam- 
ples of Peter and Paul, especially to Paul's example. 
The staple of their argument consisted of two main 
facts in the history of Jesus of Nazareth, as fulfilling 
the requirements of the scriptural prophecies in relation 
to the Christ. As to the prophecies, according to the 
language of Peter in his second epistle, and according' 
to the common sentiments of the Jews, they "came 
not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of 
God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 
They were national, standard, decisive authorities ; from 
which there could be no appeal. As to the facts, 
including, of course, their proper accessories and rela- 
tions, these were — the death and resurrection of Jesus ; 
the former acknowledged by all, the latter amply sus- 
tained, both by human testimony and by divine sanc- 
tions. It only remained to bring the prophecies and 
facts rightly together, and, in the progress and heat of 
the controversy which ensued, they were fairly welded 
forever. Behold Peter addressing the nations on the 
day of Pentecost; addressing the Jews, in Solomon's 
Porch ; addressing their Council on different occasions, 
and then addressing the Gentiles at Csesarea. Though 
somewhat modified by the auditories and occasions, 
still the argument is substantially the same : the cruci- 
fixion, the resurrection, and the predictions of both. 
Behold Paul, also, at Antioch, at Thessalonica, at 



26 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

Athens, at Corinth, at Ephesus, at Miletus, at Csesarea, 
and at Rome ; in the synagogue, the market, the court, 
the palace ; "before the people, the priests, the philoso- 
phers, the judges, the kings — pursuing the same plain 
and successful course. But why these hurried refer- 
ences ? Let me give you at least one fuller illustration. 
It is one that illuminates the whole history. See 
Paul and Silas " came to Thessalonica, where was a 
synagogue of the Jews : and Paul, as his maimer was " — 
lo! here is the habit of his entire apostolate! — "went 
in unto them, and, three Sabbath-days, reasoned with 
them, out of the Scriptures : opening and alleging that 
Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from 
the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is 
Christ." Paul is often complimented on his Grecian 
accomplishments, but I am not aware that this instance 
of their appearance has been hitherto observed. Cer- 
tainly here are two perfect and resistless syllogisms, 
which Aristotle himself, the father of the form, could 
not have improved. 

Notice the first : 

According to the Scriptures, the Christ must needs 
have endured certain sufferings ; 

Jesus of Nazareth, and he alone, has endured these 
sufferings ; 

Therefore, Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. 

Notice the second : 

According to the Scriptures, the Christ, having suf- 
fered, must needs have risen again from the dead ; 

Jesus of Nazareth, and he alone, having suffered, 
has risen again from the dead ; 

Therefore, Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. 

"With such arguments — so expanded as to compre- 
hend, and so compressed as to concentrate, all the 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 27 

evidence in the case ; bringing it to bear, at a moment's 
warning, upon the confirmation of the great conclusion 
which it was designed to eternally establish — the Apos- 
tles swept from their path the mightiest opposition that 
could be arrayed against them. True, it was not logic, 
alone, that gave them such power ; not even that elo- 
quence which is said to be "logic on fire;" not even 
that higher eloquence which may be styled, not only 
logic on fire, but logic in a blaze. No, no ; it was the 
inspiration of their logic, the inspiration of truth, the 
inspiration of the Spirit of truth, the demonstration of 
the Holy Ghost, in its own proper omnipotence, in 
vindication of the true meaning of the prophecies ; and 
of their illustrious subject, the Son of God; and of God 
the Father, who sent him into the world ; and even of 
men themselves, for whose salvation, Jews and Gentiles 
alike, he came into the world, and suffered, and died, 
and rose again. It was the logical condensation, vindi- 
cation and glorification of all authentic history and 
prophecy, from the beginning of the world to the end 
of the world ; the grandest debate of all time, in which 
it was no more than just and becoming that God's 
orators should be humbly attended wherever they went 
by " signs and wonders," and " divers miracles," in honor 
of the truth which they spoke, honestly, boldly, and 
kindly, as it ought to be spoken. 

5. As to the character of Christ, the Apostles inva- 
riably asserted its constitutional and conditional perfec- 
tion; in particular, its tempted but triumphant and 
immaculate holiness. ~No statement of his humanity 
was allowed to escape this essential qualification. He 
might be represented as constantly surrounded by sin- 
ners ; as familiarly associating with sinners, even the 
vilest of sinners, the outcasts of society ; but it must 



28 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

never be forgotten that, nevertheless, in his own char- 
acter, he was " holy, harmless, undeiiled, separate from 
sinners." He might be described as hungry, thirsty, 
and weary; as surprised, displeased, and distressed; 
in a word, as "tempted," not in any one point, or only 
a few points, but "in all points, like as we are;" but, 
the addition was indispensable — "yet, without sin." 
This was a vital exception. Christ, himself, had de- 
manded of the people — "Which of you convincethme 
of sin? " They accused him of sin, but who ever con- 
victed him of sin? "That holy thing," said the angel, 
before he was born. So he remained to the last. The 
Sanhedrim found no sin in him. The Civil court found 
no sin in him. He "did no sin," said Peter, "neither 
was guile found in his mouth." "He is pure," said 
John; "He is righteous;" "In him is no sin." And 
so Paul declared, that God "hath made him to be sin" 
(or a sin-offering) "for us, who knew no sin; that we 
might be made the righteousness of God in him." 

6. As to the death of Christ, the Apostles were 
perfectly candid. Never were they known, even in their 
remotest journeyings, to withhold it. Rather, they 
undertook their journeys for the very purpose of making 
it known. Never did they attempt, in any way, to per- 
vert the real character of the event. The substitution, 
on the cross, of another body, natural or mystical, for the 
body of Jesus, was a heretical invention. More, per- 
haps, than by any thing else, were the true witnesses 
distinguished by the fact, that, wherever they went, 
they fully proclaimed the crucifixion. They refrained 
not even from the use of terms which seemed to imply 
that Christ had been overcome, though unjustly, by his 
enemies. "Him," said Peter, "being delivered by the 
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. - 29 

have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and 
slain." And again — " Ye denied the Holy One and the 
Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 
and killed the Prince of life." And again — " The God 
of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and 
hanged on a tree." So was it with the author of our 
text. Paul never yielded, even for a moment, to the 
storm of opprobrium which everywhere assailed him, as 
a bearer of the cross. He breasted it bravely, and, 
though somewhat hindered, made constant headway 
against it. "Well knowing that the Jews required a 
sign, and that the Greeks sought after wisdom, still, 
regarding himself and his companions as commissioned 
to contend with and subdue the prejudices of both 
parties, he wrote — "We preach Christ crucified: unto 
the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks 
foolishness; but unto them which are called, both 
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the 
wisdom of God." And so again, with more particular 
reference to himself, " I am not ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ;" "God forbid that I should glory, save in the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is 
crucified unto me, and I unto the world;" and, " I de- 
termined not to know anything among you, save Jesus 
Christ, and him crucified." 

7. As to the design of the death of Christ — their tes- 
timony was equally open and clear. They proclaimed 
the event as essential to the salvation of the world ; and, 
in this gracious and glorious connexion of it, found the 
justification of their whole message. Their report of 
the nature of Christ, the expectation of Christ, the ad- 
vent of Christ, the person of Christ, the character of 
Christ, and the death of Christ, would have ended in 
utter vanity and shame — if it had not been for the ad- 



30 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

ditional development of the design of his death, the 
object to be gained by it. To say nothing of Old Testa- 
ment intelligence in this relation, although it is inex- 
haustible, it is enough to remember the New Testament 
record — that the high-priest, in virtue of his office, and 
by the spirit of prophecy, declared to the Council that 
it was "expedient" that "one man should die for the 
people;" that Christ himself more strongly expressed 
the same truth, to the Greeks who called upon him, 
saying, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn 
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone ; 
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit :" applying the 
remark, presently, to his own approaching death; and 
that, although the Apostles at first failed to apprehend 
and appreciate this subject, and Peter, in particular, had 
to be severely rebuked for objecting to one of his 
Master's anticipations of the event, they all, ultimately, 
awoke to its incomparable importance, and filled the 
world with its grandeur and splendor. "We were 
reconciled to God by the death of his Son ! " became the 
transcendent doctrine and rapture. The law could not 
have produced this effect. The moral law demanded 
vengeance. The ceremonial law had no intrinsic virtue. 
But, "what the law could not do, being weak through 
the flesh, God, sending his own Son, in the likeness of 
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." 
The design was, "that he, by the grace of God, should 
taste death for every man:" "that through death he 
might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, 
the devil ; and deliver them who, through fear of death, 
were all their life-time subj ect to bondage. " They could 
scarcely restrain — they did not restrain, their seeming de 
lirium of ecstacy. Even the mighty Paul desired no bet- 
ter apology than this — " The love of Christ constraineth 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 81 

us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all" — there 
is the great fact! — "then were all dead" — there is the 
great necessity! — "and that he died for all" — here 
comes the great design — "that they which live should 
not henceforth live unto themselves, hut unto him which 
died for them, and rose again. " Christ died for our 
sins ;" " In whom we have redemption, through his blood, 
even the forgiveness of sins;" "Who gave himself for 
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
purify us unto himself, a peculiar people, zealous of 
good works:" being, himself, "the propitiation for our 
sins, and not for ours only, but, also, for the sins of the 
whole world ; ' ' and designing, finally, to "deliver us from 
this present evil world, according to the will of God and 
our Father," and to introduce us to the enjoyment of 
that "inheritance" which is "incorruptible, undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for (all) 
who are kept, by the power of God, through faith, unto 
salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." "For 
this cause, he is the Mediator of the New Testament, 
that, by means of death, for the redemption of the trans- 
gressions under the first testament, they which are called 
might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For 
where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the 
death of the testator." Other passages, almost without 
number, might be cited with similar effect ; but these 
must suffice. They show the ample compensation, in- 
volved in this doctrine, for all its apparent shame. 
The death of Christ was necessary to the salvation of 
the world. 

Such, then, is the simple rehearsal of the Apostolic 
proclamation — the statement of the main points in the 
doctrine of Christ crucified ; the doctrine which Paul 
himself had already preached in Arabia, Palestine, and 



32 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

Syria; in Asia Minor and Europe; at Damascus, Jeru- 
salem, and Antioch ; at Iconium, Troas, and Philippi : 
at Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, and at Corinth 
itself; to Jews and Greeks, under all circumstances, 
and with every variety of result. 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED; 

AS REGARDED BY JEWS, GREEKS, AND CHRISTIANS. 



"For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after -wisdom; but 
we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto 
the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which are called, both Jews and 
Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." — 1 Cor. 
Ch. i : 22, 23, 24. 

Having attempted, in the preceding discourse, a cor- 
rect preliminary rehearsal of the Apostolic Proclamation, 
I now proceed to consider the two remaining points, as 
then stated : 

II. A REVIEW, MORE AT LARGE, OF ITS REPUTED FEEBLE- 
NESS AND FOLLY. 

It has already plainly appeared, that the doctrine of 
the Christ, was known to both Jews and Gentiles. The 
Apostle might have said, with little qualification, the 
Jews preach — the Christ; the Greeks preach — the 
Christ; and we preach — the Christ. But, the Jews 
preach Christ — with a Sign> or, with Power ; the Greeks 
preach Christ — with Wisdom ; while we preach Christ — 
with the Cross. The Jews, preferring their Christ, re- 
ject our Christ — as Weakness; the Greeks, preferring 
their Christ, reject our Christ — as Foolishness; but we, 
nevertheless, preach the Crucified Nazarene as the true 
Christ — not Weakness, but Power — not Foolishness, 
but Wisdom. The Jews' Christ would be Weakness, 

3 (33) 



34 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

the weakness of man; the Greeks' Christ would be 
Foolishness, the foolishness of man ; but our Christ is 
the Power of God and the "Wisdom of God. In a word, 
they differed, not in simple knowledge of the doctrine, 
but in relation to the proper understanding and appli- 
cation of it. This, as will be seen, was a difference of 
infinite consequence. 

Let us first examine the case of the Jews. "We 
preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block ;" 
an occasion of surprise and prostration. "What! the 
Christ — crucified ? It was utterly incredible. Such a 
doctrine would lay their highest and proudest hopes low 
in the dust forever. It was the mightiest insult, the 
bitterest mockery, their nation had ever heard. Their 
astonishment was perfect ; their resentment, malignant. 
But why was this ? The answer is found in the first 
verse of the text — "The Jews require a sign; " that is, 
a miracle. They scarcely deigned to notice any other 
evidence of the Messiahship. They not only expected, 
but demanded, as the only satisfactory sanction of claims 
to this great office, some supernatural demonstration of 
divine power. 

But, it may be asked, did not the history of Jesus of 
[Nazareth disclose demonstrations of this kind? Cer- 
tainly, it did ; and this fact creates a necessity for the 
statement of an important distinction ; a distinction by 
which the difficulty thus suggested may be entirely 
avoided, and the true ground of the opposition of the 
Jews to the Gospel be clearly and fully displayed. 

The distinction alluded to is that which exists between 
miracles performed in behalf of Individuals, and mira- 
cles wrought for the advantage of the Nation. 

The Jews were looking for a National and Political 
Redeemer. This is proved by every record of the times. 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 35 

Therefore, the signs or miracles which they required 
were such as should illustrate the ability of the sup- 
posed Messiah to deliver them from national subjection, 
and exalt them to a condition of supremacy and master- 
dom. Several causes encouraged this requirement. 

In the first place, their history was full of such en- 
couragements. Their ancient deliverers — successively 
raised up by Divine Providence as the exigencies of the 
people called for them, and the most of whom might 
be regarded as types, more or less exact, of the Great 
Promised Deliverer — in nearly all instances had ex- 
hibited such signs. Let us observe a few of them. 

When the Israelites were to be brought forth from 
Egypt, Moses was commissioned to go in as a god before 
Pharaoh, attended by Aaron as his prophet. Then the 
dry rod, cast upon the floor, coiled into a living serpent, 
and sprang again into the hardness and deadness of a 
staff. Then the delicious waters were changed into stag- 
nant blood ; and then, bloated reptiles ; and then, loath- 
some insects; and then, the "grievous murrain;" and 
then, burning boils ; and then, the fiery hail-storm ; and 
then, the consuming locusts ; and then, the thick three- 
days' darkness; and then, the universal midnight cry 
over the death of the first-born — at once avenged the 
wrongs of the oppressed, secured their emancipation, 
and established the divine authority of their magnifi- 
cent leader. 

These were miracles for the advantage of the nation. 
And such were all the memorable achievements which 
subsequently distinguished their descent into the sea, 
their repose among the mountains, and their prolonged 
pilgrimage in the desert. 

So was it, again, at the time of the entrance of the 
Tribes into the Promised Land, under the guidance of 



36 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

Joshua. Jordan, sweeping onward in its flood-season 
and overflowing all its banks, shrank from the feet of 
the priests who bore the Ark, and turned back upon 
itself, heaping the torrents in its northern course, as 
though intercepted by an invisible but impenetrable 
wall, and leaving a bare channel southward from the 
fording to the lake. Thus, the authority of Joshua was 
confirmed. Therefore, it is said, " On that day the Lord 
magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel ; and they 
feared him as they feared Moses, all the days of his 
life." So was it, moreover, when the walls of Jericho, 
at the sound of the priests' trumpets and the shouting 
of the people, "fell down flat, so that the people went 
up into the city, every man straight before him." And 
so was it, also, on the day of which it is said — " There 
was no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord 
hearkened unto the voice of a man ; " permitting the be- 
hest of a child of the earth to control the movements 
of the sky; when Joshua, "in the sight of Israel," ex- 
claimed, " Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon ; and thou, 
Moon, in the Valley of Ajalon!" and, for "about a 
whole day," Gibeon burned in the overhanging glory, 
and the motionless moon beamed in its beauty on the 
wondering inhabitants of Ajalon. All these were mira- 
cles for the nation, that the people might " avenge them- 
selves upon their enemies." 

In like manner might be adduced the marvelous 
achievements of Gideon, Samson, and Samuel; of 
David and Elijah. These, too, were signs which the 
tribes exulted to witness and welcome ; wonders which 
challenged and secured immediate and universal confi- 
dence, for they changed and improved the public con- 
dition. 

Look more particularly at the lonely and unaided 



CHEIST CRUCIFIED. 37 

Elijah. See the land given to idolatry — groves, temples, 
altars, priests, and sacrifices, everywhere parading con- 
tempt for Jehovah, and pride in the worship of Baal. 
Punishment was the first thing essential to redemption. 
"And Elijah said unto Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel 
liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor 
rain these years, but according to my word." And it 
was so! For three years and six months the day 
brought no rain, and the night yielded no dew. The 
brooks were dried up, the fountains failed, the grass 
crisped to rottenness, the cattle perished, the people 
languished, until, at last, the governor of the palace, 
and the king of the nation, went forth, separated, and 
wandered, vainly searching mountain and valley for 
moisture and growth. The Eden-like plains of Jordan, 
Esdrelon, and Sharon, blended with the deserts, and 
filled the air with the fine dust of palm-leaves, harvests, 
and flowers. Tabor and Carmel, Hermon and Lebanon, 
became barren as Ebal, and desolate as the Cliffs of 
Cursing. It seemed as though Jehovah, in his anger, 
had sworn that Baal, the sun-god, should be suffered to 
make the world his temple, the elements his priests, the 
mountains his altars, and mankind his victims ; ruling 
heaven and earth with the omnipresence and omnipo- 
tence of fire. 

Thus punished for their crime, the people were next 
to be shown that their folly was as great as their guilt. 
Behold the assembly on the slope of Carmel ! Behold 
the foaming waves of the sea, rolling in the fierce light 
like molten silver, and dashing on dazzling coasts that 
glow like heated iron! Behold the haughty king, 
and his courtiers, and the four hundred and fifty priests 
of Baal, and the thousands of all Israel; and, in the 
midst of the enraged multitude, see the only remaining 



38 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

prophet of the Lord — the very ideal of faith, the very 
personification of courage ! Hear his challenge ! Mark 
the contest ! Why do the priests of Baal fail ? Surely 
they have every advantage. They are hundreds in 
number. They have all classes, in court and kingdom, 
to cheer them. They have a dry altar. They have the 
first sacrifice. The whole day is before them. And all 
they have to do is to catch one spark from a sky all fire. 
Hark! "0 Baal, hear us!" But there is no "voice, 
nor any to answer." See, how they leap around the 
altar! But still they are unnoticed. And now it is 
high noon. The throne of their god is in mid-heaven. 
Does not the prophet tremble ? Every ray, from such a 
sun, threatens to kindle into a blaze ! Ha ! He scorns 
their god, and scoffs at the priesthood. Listen to his 
taunt — " Cry aloud, for he is a god : either he is talking, 
or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or perad venture 
he sleepeth, and must be awaked! " 0, how the keen 
irony cuts into their souls ! And how, with knife and 
lancet, they, themselves, cut their bodies, in their agony, 
until the blood gushes out all over them. And still 
they cry; cry, unanswered; cry, unheard; cry, until 
the sun has far declined, and hope has set forever. 
But now behold the triumph of the brave and holy one ! 
See how the people crowd around, while he joyfully re- 
pairs the broken altar of the Lord. See the twelve 
stones, symbolical of the twelve tribes, resuming their 
places, in the name of the Lord. See the trench around 
the altar, the wood on it, the offering on the wood. 
See the four barrels of water, brought up from the ready 
sea, and poured over the whole ; and four more ; and 
four more ; running round about the altar, and filling 
the trench to overflowing. And now — hark ! how se- 
renely the prophet's petition ascends through the still 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 39 

And see ! the instant answer ! The fire 
has fallen ! The sacrifice is consumed — the wood, the 
stones, the dust, all have disappeared, and the very water 
steams into the sky, and floats abroad, like a flag of 
victory, over all the field of flame. Eo wonder the 
people feel and confess their folly. 'Ho wonder they fall 
upon their faces, and cry from the ground — " The Lord, 
he is the God ! The Lord, he is the God ! " 

Being thus brought to repentance, only one thing 
more was wanting — the restoration of their forfeited 
blessings. And now, again behold the prophet ! See 
him kneeling on the top of Carmel. See his servant, 
seven times surveying the world of waters. Mark, at 
last, the rising of the " little cloud — like a man's hand " 
in size, but, in power and mercy, like the hand of God. 
See the hurried dismission, the heavens " black with 
clouds and wind," and the boundless down-pouring of 
the great rain ! Then the fountains laughed, the 
brooks sang, the cataracts danced, and the rivers and 
lakes ran wild with joy. Then the ashy seeds, and the 
stalkless roots, thrilled all the soil with recovered life : 
and the groves in the fields, and the forests on the hills, 
uplifted their arms and clapped their hands in the 
freshness and strength of a sudden, but assured and 
perfect resurrection. Then the valleys sent up their 
praise to the mountains, and the mountains bore it 
aloft to the skies ; and the blended thanksgivings of all 
the earth, rising through the thick darkness, and 
through the serene sunshine above it, collected their 
grateful music at the throne, and entered the ear, and 
touched the heart of God. 

Let these instances suffice, in illustration of the fact, 
that the history of the Jews encouraged their habitual 
demand for signs — in attestation of claims to the office 



40 CHEIST CRUCIFIED. 

of the Messiah : signs, moreover, which, according to 
the natural tendency of such a history, might be ex- 
pected to consist, at the actual advent of the Messiah, 
of pre-eminently stupendous and splendid miracles for 
the advantage of the nation. 

In the second place, many of the prophecies relating 
to the person and office of the Messiah, encouraged 
this demand : or rather so they appeared to do, when 
studied under ordinary influences. These prophecies 
were numerous and various : some, literal ; others, fig- 
urative : some applicable to the first advent, others to 
the second ; and others, perhaps, though in different re- 
lations, to both. To merely natural men— men govern- 
ed by worldly motives alone — it was unavoidable that 
such records should be misunderstood and perverted. 

Among the prophecies referring to the first advent of 
Christ, some literally describe his humble estate and 
complicated sufferings — as, for instance, where he is 
said to be "despised and rejected of men, a man of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief." Others, as lite- 
rally, and with great particularity, anticipate his mira- 
cles — miracles, however, it is important to remark, 
which should be wrought, not for the advantage of the 
nation, but in behalf of individuals — as, for instance, 
where it is written: "Then the eyes of the blind shall 
be opened ; and the ears of the deaf shall be unstop- 
ped : then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the 
tongue of the dumb sing." IsTow, we know, from the 
subsequent history, that these and similar classes of 
predictions were actually and exactly fulfilled in the 
life of Jesus of Nazareth — and yet their fulfillment was 
very slightly regarded. 

Among the prophecies relating to the second advent, 
however, or those which, if applied to the first, must 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 41 

be figuratively understood, there are some which rep- 
resent the glory of Christ and his Church by the pomp 
'and prosperity of a king and his kingdom. A few 
citations will be sufficient here. 

Thus, the second Psalm opens with opposition to the 
Lord and his Anointed. The heathen rage, the people 
imagine a vain thing, and kings and rulers unite in 
arms and council. Then the Lord laughs at them, 
holds them in derision, speaks to them in his wrath, 
and vexes them in his sore displeasure. Then he 
enthrones and proclaims his Son as king in Ziom 
Then the Son himself declares the decree — acknowledg- 
ing his sonship, and conferring upon him the heritage 
of the world. Then the Psalm concludes with a pre- 
diction of his conquests, and with advice to all earthly 
authorities to render him homage. 

Again, there is the record in Isaiah: "Unto us a 
child is born, unto us a son is given, and the govern- 
ment shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall 
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the 
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the in- 
crease of his government and peace there shall be no 
end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with 
justice, from henceforth even forever." 

And so, there is the record in Daniel : "I saw in the 
night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man 
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the 
Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before 
him. And there was given him dominion, and a glory, 
and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages 
should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting do- 
minion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom 
that which shall not be destroyed." 



42 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

There is no difficulty, now, in discerning the figura- 
tive character of such prophecies as these, if they be 
applied to the first advent; or, if they be literally 
received, in determining their application to the second 
advent. Historically assured, as we are, of one actual 
advent of Christ, we know that he did not then ascend 
the throne of David: was not then proclaimed on 
Zion : and did not then, in any worldly sense, establish 
a universal and everlasting dominion. He did, how- 
ever, set up a spiritual kingdom in Jerusalem, and 
extended it to Rome, and has perpetuated it to this 
hour, and presides over it at this moment, and is stea- 
dily conducting it toward its certain, complete and 
endless supremacy. True, a spiritual kingdom is an 
all-inclusive development; beginning at the inmost 
centre and expanding to the outmost circumference; 
purifying the moral, sanctifying the material, and sub- 
ordinating all things to the perfect will of God : and, 
therefore, whatever was wanting in the first advent is 
only waiting for the second, when the figurative shall 
become literal, the spiritual consummate its renovation 
of the natural, the grace of the invisible be the glory 
of the visible, and God in Christ be all in all, in a 
world of fadeless beauty, full of immortal saints. 

The Jews, however, overlooking the literal prophe- 
cies of the lowly condition and merciful miracles of 
Christ, and undervaluing the facts by which they were 
fulfilled, in their very presence, in the life and works of 
the loving ISTazarene, cherished with a proud delight 
the gorgeous descriptions of the Messianic reign, and, 
whether figurative or literal, in time or out of time, 
applied them all to the purposes of their national 
ambition. 

These afforded all they desired. In his person, the 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 43 

Messiah was to be the son of David, the monarch 
whose memory they most revered: if not, in some 
sense also the Son of God, the being whose name, for 
thousands of years, they and their fathers had so pro- 
foundly adored. In his office he was to be a king, and 
not only a king, but King of kings, and Lord of lords. 
He was to make his advent in the clouds of heaven, 
displaying all the insignia of authority bestowed upon 
him by the Ancient of Days. His works were to 
excel, incomparably, all that had distinguished his 
most illustrious types : and yet, though so superior to 
them in grandeur, still, like them in object, were all to 
be performed for the elevation of his own people. 
Moriah was to be the mount of worship, and Zion the 
mount of majesty, for the whole earth. Jerusalem was 
to be the city of cities, Judea the land of lands, and the 
seed of Abraham the nation of nations. And all this 
was to continue, under similar auspices, forever. No 
Egyptian, no Canaanite, no Assyrian, no Roman con- 
queror, should ever again place his foot on the neck of 
the Daughter of Zion. All thrones, in all ages, were 
to become tributary to their Throne of thrones, and all 
kingdoms were to revolve, in borrowed light, around 
the central orb of their fixed, unequaled and unending 
glory. 

As already intimated, it is no wonder that they thus 
mistook the prophecies. The prophets themselves had 
been unable fully to comprehend their predictions. 
The people, generally, for a succession of ages, had 
rested in this understanding of them. Indeed, the 
class of predictions to which these belong, detached 
from others, regarded literally and applied immediately, 
did certainly suggest such developments. And, more- 
over, the condition of the nation just at that juncture, 



44 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

groaning under the impositions of a government for- 
eign, idolatrous, and vile, inclined them the more 
strongly to the indulgence of the hopes excited by such 
constructions of their inspired records. 

These, then, were some of the causes which encour- 
aged the Jews to demand of candidates for the Mes- 
siahship a sign, and which, more particularly, encouraged 
them to require a national sign — a sign of authority 
and power to perform whatever miracles should be 
necessary to the emancipation and exaltation of the 
whole people. 

Thus encouraged, they did demand such a sign. 
They required it of Jesus himself, and that in con- 
nexions demonstrating their chief desires and hopes. 
Thus said the Scribes and Pharisees: "Master, we 
would see a sign from thee." Again, the Pharisees 
and Sadducees "tempting, desired him that he would 
shew them a sign from heaven." Again, the Jews in 
the temple inquired, "What sign shewest thou unto 
us, seeing that thou doest these things ? " And again, 
the multitude at Capernaum asked, " What sign shew- 
est thou, then, that we may see and believe thee? 
What dost thou work ? Our fathers did eat manna in 
the desert; as it is written, he gave them bread from 
heaven to eat." And these demands were made, in 
the first instance, just after Jesus had dispossessed a 
blind and dumb man of a devil, and caused him both 
to see and speak : in the second, soon after he had fed 
"four thousand men, beside women and children/* 
with " seven" loaves of bread " and a few little fishes : " 
in the third, when he had just performed the appro- 
priate work of purifying the temple : and in the fourth, 
when he had fed another multitude, of u &ve thousand " 
men, with "five barley loaves, and two small fishes." 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 45 

So that it is perfectly plain that works of piety and 
mercy were not sufficient to meet their wishes, and 
that nothing would satisfy them but some grand and 
decisive demonstration, in assumption and advance- 
ment of their political redemption. Indeed, it is 
everywhere observable, that just as the works of Jesus 
produced a favorable impression, the popular heart 
turned toward him, in hope that he would prove to be 
the long-expected and victorious Sovereign. Thus, in 
the first instance just alluded to, the people, amazed at 
the miracle, instantly betrayed this hope, inquiring, 
"Is not this the son of David?" an inquiry promptly 
checked by the Pharisees, who waited for some mightier 
sign than the salvation of a poor demoniac, but still 
indicative of the prevailing sentiment. So, in the fourth 
instance, the people again exclaimed, "This is, of a 
truth, that prophet that should come into the world;" 
and Jesus had to withdraw from them, perceiving that 
if he remained, they would disregard his remonstrances, 
and "take him by force, to make him a king." In a 
word, what they wished, and all they wished, was — a 
king, a matchless king. Therefore, they required the 
"sign" of a king. 

Such being the demand of the Jews, it is easy to see 
why they rejected the doctrine of the Apostles. It was 
not, chiefly, because of the divine nature ascribed to 
Christ. It was not at all because of the assertion of the 
ancient expectation of Christ, nor yet, simply, because 
of the announcement of the actual advent of Christ. 
It was, mainly, because of their testimony to the person 
and character of Christ, and especially to his death and 
the design of his death. What ! they asked, has the 
Christ come ? Where is he ? Who is he ? And the 
Apostles answered, Jesus of Nazareth. 



46 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

"What! they objected, Jesus of Nazareth the Christ! 
Where, then, is his sign? Where is the power, with 
which God has honored him, for the advantage of our 
nation? Why, according to your own showing, the 
history of Jesus of Nazareth, was a manifestation of utter 
weakness ! 

Was he not the poor child of poor parents ? born in 
a stable ? cradled in a manger ? and soon carried off, in 
haste and fear, to a foreign land ? And did he not timidly 
return, hiding himself in Galilee, and growing up ob- 
scurely in the toil of a carpenter ? Did he not enter upon 
his self-assumed mission without the slightest patronage ? 
Was he not homeless, moneyless, and, except yourselves, 
friendless ? His instructions ! what were they but com- 
mendations of a poor, mourning, meek, unresisting, 
uncomplaining, suffering spirit, blessing and praying 
for its foes ! His miracles ! what were they, but pitiful 
reliefs of old women, widows, and children, and cures 
of servants, beggars, lepers, and demoniacs ! There was 
no element of sublime power about him. When did 
he marshal the hosts of Israel ? When did he smite 
the accursed Gentiles? Where is his sign? He has 
none! 

Why, he suffered himself! and so confirmed his ser- 
vile precepts by his pusillanimous example. He was 
called, to his very face, a glutton, a drunkard, a devil, 
and even the prince of devils, and yet took no vengeance. 
He was betrayed by one of your own number, denied 
by another, and forsaken by all, and yet looked without 
a frown even upon him who repeated lie upon lie, and 
added swearing to lying, and cursing to swearing, on 
purpose to disown him. And then, his death ! After 
being seized in the garden, and led from place to place, 
all night, through the city, and chained, and scourged, 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 47 

and spit upon, and buffeted, and mocked, and con- 
demned, and led out again, beneath the burden of his 
cross, and stripped, and nailed to the wood, and sus- 
pended, pale and bleeding, and almost exhausted; and 
again scoffed at, and jeered, and derided, and challenged 
to come down, and promised faith and welcome — even 
then, in the moment of his bitterest agony, when the 
meanest craven that ever breathed would have knit his 
brows, and gnashed his teeth, and foamed his maledic- 
tions on his murderers — even then, what did he do but 
lift his calm eyes to heaven and pray, " Father, forgive 
them, for they know not what they do ! " That was 
your Christ ! A victim of the cross — and such a victim ! 
"Would ye have us believe in him ? Would ye captivate 
us with such signs as these ? Is this to be the end of 
our hope of the Messiah ? Nay, verily — never, never-! 

And then, the design of his death ! What ! would 
ye escape confusion by telling us that he died to save 
the world ? that he shed his blood to atone for sins ? 
Atone for sins! Is this the object of our Champion's 
coming ? Shall the offspring of Omnipotence enter the 
world, and that, too, in the person of the son of him 
who slew the giant of Gath, to atone for sins ? Atone 
for sins ! Whose sins ? The sins of the Gentiles ? 
Wliere was his sword, that it did not make their own 
blood atone! Our sins? Where is the priesthood? 
Where the temple ? Where the altar ? Where are the 
sacrifices ? What other atonement do we need ? Is such 
the vindication of your crucified Christ? 

And ye, yourselves, who are ye? pretending to be 
his Apostles. Better return to your nets and to the 
tables of custom ! What is your endowment ? A 
cunningly devised fable ! And what is your commis- 
sion ? To travel about and tell it ! And what is your 



48 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

motive? Is it love for your dead Master? A very 
likely story ! Is it love for the wicked world ? Aye, it 
loves you so much! And what is your object? To 
persuade the people to believe you ! And whom have 
you persuaded ? The outcasts of society ! And what 
is your hope ? That you and your dupes, forsooth, will 
inherit a kingdom — the peerless kingdom of him whose 
throne was a cross ! Far better is your chance for the 
cross itself ! Are these your signs ? Then we are not 
the fools to receive them. To us your doctrine is a 
stumbling-block, and we shall be careful enough to 
avoid it. We have waited for power, and are not to be 
deluded into the acceptance of weakness. 

So much for the fact, that the preaching of Christ cru- 
cified was a stumbling-block to the Jews. Their historic 
books encouraged them to require a sign. Their pro- 
phetic books encouraged them to require a sign. They 
did require a sign. And, so far, it does not appear 
that they did wrong. 

But in this was their wrong. They required a false 
sign. They were full of the love of the world, "the 
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, a'nd the pride of 
life." Their pride, in particular, was excessive. There- 
fore they demanded the special sign of royal power. 
Therefore, without due consideration, they rejected all 
other signs. Because their ancient deliverers had dis- 
played national signs, they took it for granted that the 
Christ would do the same, without inquiring whether 
he was to come for social or personal, political or spirit- 
ual, purposes; for their own benefit alone, or for the 
benefit of the world; and whether, therefore, merely 
national signs would be appropriate or inappropriate ? 
And, in like manner, as their ancient prophets antici- 
pated the Christ as a king, and his kingdom as glorious ; 



CHKIST CRUCIFIED. 49 

and, as these were the tidings that flattered their pride ; 
they at once adopted the literal meaning, and immedi- 
ate application, without inquiring whether this natural 
splendor was not the symbol of a greater spiritual glory, 
or whether, the spiritual being first in order, the natural 
must not be deferred until the consummation of the 
spiritual ? and, at the same time, overlooked those pre- 
dictions which were really literal, and literally fulfilled, 
representing the Christ as passing through a precedence 
of suffering and death, and ministering, in his gracious 
course, the most remarkable individual reliefs of body 
and soul, the true types of entire and eternal redemption. 
This exclusive devotion to political ambition was all 
wrong. It led them into a thousand errors. It hurried 
them into a thousand crimes. It was a manifestation 
of national haughtiness and prejudice, exceedingly un- 
just and offensive, to both God and man. It showed 
a selfish, contracted, and corrupt heart. It induced 
them to require signs in proof of the Messiahship, which 
would have been complete disproofs ; and to contemn, 
as worthless, the divinest and most decisive demonstra- 
tions which it was possible to make. It unfitted them 
for the appreciation, and even for the apprehension, of 
the wisest and most benevolent disclosures of our Maker ; 
and cut them off from the sympathies of the great 
brotherhood of our race. A stumbling-block, indeed ! 
With all their care they did not avoid it. They fell 
over it. And no wonder they fell ! They deserved to 
fall ! They preferred the pomp of a tribe to the happi- 
ness of mankind, the sovereignty of Israel to the salva- 
tion of the world. No marvel that Christ refused to 
give them such a sign as they desired. How easily he 
could have done it ! How easily he could have filled 

heaven and earth with such signs! How easily he 

4 



50 OH HIST CRUCIFIED. 

could have eclipsed the most splendid achievements of 
Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and all their compeers from the 
"beginning of the world — so completely and permanently 
eclipsed them, that they would scarcely have come into 
mind any more. How easily! Aye, physically, with 
infinite ease ; but, morally, it was infinitely impossible. 
He could not minister to such a spirit. It was part of 
his divine joy, that the works which he did perform 
were such as "none other man did," from the founda- 
tion of the world. Kiver and sea had been sundered ; 
hill and mountain had been fired ; sun and moon had 
been stayed ; and, in connexion with all, cities had been 
overthrown, kingdoms demolished, and nations extermi- 
nated ; ten thousand signs of terror had filled the earth 
with dismay ; but, where was the record of the meek 
and lowly Saviour, who never took a step, or lifted a 
finger, or breathed a word, to injure any; in whose 
presence the eyes of the blind opened, the ears of the 
deaf were unstopped, the lame man leaped as a hart, 
and the tongue of the dumb sang? Where was the 
record of the Friend of Sinners, welcoming to his love 
the most neglected of the outcast, the poorest of the 
poor, the dullest of the dull, the vilest of the vile, and 
the saddest of the sad ; sharing their sorrows, supplying 
their wants, healing their diseases, forgiving their sins, 
enlightening their minds, consoling their hearts, and 
saving their souls ; inviting them all to his holy and 
happy home in heaven, going up, at last, to prepare 
heaven for them, and sending down his Spirit to prepare 
them for heaven ? Where else is the record that shows 
such signs as these ? And yet, though it was part of 
the divine joy of Jesus that, in the whole succession of 
illustrious men from the beginning of the world, " none 
other man did" such works as these: these were not 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 51 

his greatest works. One, in particular, remained — far 
greater than all. This was his own chosen and favorite 
sign ; the one which he came from heaven on purpose 
to exhibit, not to Israel alone, but to all mankind. 
Therefore, while he refused the sign required, he 
promised the one intended. "What sign showest 
thou?" said the Jews. "Destroy this temple," said 
Jesus, "and in three days I will raise it up." ~No 
wonder they were astonished. And yet, even according 
to their own understanding of the task, with what 
infinite ease he could have done it; restoring every 
thing to its place, from the deepest stone in the founda- 
tion to the highest spike of gold on the pinnacle of the 
sanctuary. But, he spake not of Herod's temple. He 
alluded to a far more hallowed shrine, the temple 
within which dwelt, not the pale shekinah, but, "all 
the fullness of the Godhead." He " spake of the temple 
of his body;" the temple of the universe and of the 
God of the universe. That was the sign; the same 
sign which he afterwards connected with an humbler 
symbol, saying, "An evil and adulterous generation 
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to 
it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas;" that is, the sign 
of his own most blessed death, burial, and resurrection; 
the sign of atonement, rest, and immortality for man — 
of faith, hope, and love — of pardon, peace, and para- 
dise — of all good and good for all ; a sign, not to the 
Jews only, but to all nations — not to the seed of Abra- 
ham alone, but, to all the children of Adam ; the sign 
of the one, true, and only Christ — announced in Eden, 
promised in Hebron, crucified on Calvary, and en- 
throned forever in the heaven of heavens. 

Having thus reviewed the manner in which the 
Apostolic doctrine was generally received among the 



52 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

Jews, let us, in the second place, examine the case of 
the Greeks. "We preach Christ crucified, unto the 
Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolish- 
ness." The Jews regarded it as weakness : the Greeks, 
as folly. The Jews objected, that it was physically im- 
becile : the Greeks, that it was intellectually absurd. 

The question here is similar to the one already treated. 
Why did the Greeks thus estimate the doctrine of the 
Apostles? Here, too, the reply is found in the first 
verse of the text — " The Greeks seek after wisdom" 
They were more anxious to secure moral than physical 
power. They desired truth rather than strength, a 
maxim rather than a miracle. To a great extent, at 
least, their character deserves this acknowledgment; 
and, so far as proper, it is delightful to make it. The 
remembrance of such a distinction gives an instant 
refinement to all thought. 

But here again it may be inquired, did not the his- 
tory of Jesus of Nazareth display the attractions of 
wisdom ? Certainly it did ; and, therefore, it is neces- 
sary to attempt some comparison of the wisdom sought 
by the Greeks, with the wisdom manifested by Jesus, 
in order to understand the ground and force of their 
objection. 

What, then, was the wisdom sought by the Greeks ? 
The subject naturally transcends the common and eager, 
though often idle, curiosity for which the Greeks were 
celebrated. " Would you go about the city," exclaimed 
Demosthenes, " and demand what news ? What greater 
news can there be than that a Macedonian enslaves 
the Athenians, and lords it over Greece?" So it is 
recorded by Luke, of the time when Paul, a greater 
than Demosthenes, preached in Athens, that ■" All the 
Athenians and strangers which were there, spent their 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 53 

time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear, some 
new thing." Here, indeed, may be one of the primitive 
elements out of which the nobler things originally 
ascended, for invention is generally curious, but the 
nobler things themselves invite our chief attention. 

And now it is difficult to decide what to exclude 
from this circle of wisdom ; so pure and clear, so con- 
centrate and intense, so myriadly and successfully active 
was Grecian genius, so illustrious and enduring were its 
model achievements, and so proud were the people of 
its monuments and fame. The nature of the case, 
however, demands some discrimination. The beauty 
of art must be excluded, for the Apostles were neither 
artists nor representatives of art, and hence there is no 
occasion for comparison in this connexion. For similar 
reasons, general literature and science must be excluded. 
In like manner, though more nearly involved, the popu- 
lar mythology must also be shut out ; for scarcely any 
honest and competent seeker of wisdom could fail to 
discern that this was merely the machineiy of poets, 
priests, and kings. What, then, is left? Something, 
indeed, of logic, rhetoric, and oratory, but, chiefly, 
philosophy — the sublimest embodiment and paragon 
of all: philosophy, in whole, in its amplest horizon 
aspects, as when its blushing rise was witnessed at 
Miletus, and its splendid setting beheld at Alexandria ; 
and, more particularly, in its zenith condensation — the 
moral philosophy of Socrates and his successors, the 
golden noon of Athens and all Greece. The Grecian 
philosophy was the result of the patient, laborious, and 
most careful devotion of many of the strongest, keenest, 
and best disciplined intellects that ever lived, to the 
study of the highest accessible truth. Whatever, within 
the whole range of thought, and especially in relation 



54 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

to the great subject of human duty, could be thus ascer- 
tained, they learned, adjusted, and taught. Due allow- 
ance being made for their circumstances, the confession 
must follow, that the human mind has never displayed 
more magnificent energies than were seen in the persons, 
efforts, and attainments of these honored sages. 

The estimation in which the people held their phi 
losophy — notwithstanding the number of its sects and 
the diversity of its doctrines — was incomparably exalted. . 
They considered it their chief crown and glory. And 
so it was. It was by this power, principally, that they 
maintained their social pre-eminence throughout all 
political vicissitudes. Their arms might fail, but their 
philosophy could not. Their heroes might be van- 
quished, but their sages were invincible. Leonidas was 
crushed by Persian force, and Alexander succumbed to 
Persian blandishments, but Socrates and Plato, Aris- 
totle and Zeno, were immortal. They seemed to die, 
indeed, but only to lead a higher life ; disappeared from 
sight, but only to ascend the skies and command and 
rule the world. "War made Greece the captive of Borne, 
but philosophy made Eome the captive of Greece. In 
a word, Grecia and wisdom were inseparably united, 
and patriotism and philosophy were one. 

In respect of those among the people who added 
personal devotion to common admiration, becoming 
disciples of wisdom and students of philosophy, these 
things at least may be remarked : that nothing could 
exceed their veneration for their teachers, their docility 
under instruction, their diligent researches, their perse- 
vering meditations, their zeal in dispute, the shrewdness 
of their distinctions, or the graces of their style. 
Years of silent or inquisitive listening, in their own 
land; and years of observant pilgrimage among the 



C Hit I ST CRUCIFIED. 00 

courts, and schools, and temples of foreign lands ; and 
years of subsequent seclusion for the arrangement, im- 
provement, and communication of the ample materials 
thus collected ; all passed away, and still they remained 
as ardent as ever in the pursuit of wisdom. " The 
Greeks seek after wisdom." 

Here we approach a development of the causes toward 
which these reflections have gradually conducted us. 
Such of the people as were too much employed in 
humbler duties to engage in the study of philosophy, 
were, nevertheless, as already intimated, instinct with 
admiration of its fame; imagined nothing essentially 
adverse to it could equal much less excel it ; witnessed, 
with exquisite pleasure, its occasional illuminations of 
all the more sensuous forms of society ; and longed for 
the opportunity of becoming more fully indoctrinated 
into its truth and imbued with its spirit. These, of 
course, were prepared to regard as foolishness the new 
and strange proclamation of the Apostles. "What! 
preach the doctrine of Christ crucified to us ! and that, 
for the subversion of our renowned philosophy ! What 
egregious folly! It would almost discredit an idiot. 
These men are mere babblers. 

Another class, however, may be remembered, as 
having sought wisdom in a nobler sense. Having 
enjoyed greater facilities for becoming acquainted with 
the several systems of philosophy — being convinced of 
their numerous imperfections, contradictions, and un- 
certainties, and assured of their own inability, and the 
inability of others, like themselves, to perfect, harmonize, 
and confirm such theories — they waited for and sought 
the presence and help of some extraordinary personage, 
wiser than themselves, and wiser than their masters; 
some sublime embodiment of superhuman intelligence. 



D6 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

In seeking wisdom, they sought a pre-eminently Wise 
Man; one who should yet be more than man, and 
competent to afford all the knowledge they desired. 

The necessity for such intervention was freely ac- 
knowledged by the principal philosophers themselves. 
They had much pleasure in the abstract contemplation 
of their doctrines ; but not much in the observation of 
their practical influence. Rather, they saw, with pain, 
that their best lessons were inefficient. Socrates de- 
clared the vanity of all hopes of reforming the world, 
unless God would send some superior instructor. Plato 
compared the good man to one who seeks a shelter 
from a violent hurricane. Beholding the preyalency 
of wickedness, and being unable to resist it effectually, 
he contents himself with self-preservation — passing his 
life in retirement and peace, and dying at last with 
tranquility and hope. IsTothing, he also averred, could 
be rightly adjusted, but by the special interposition of 
the Deity. 

But, they not only acknowledged the necessity for 
divine aid; they expressed, moreover, an expectation 
that it would be granted, and advised their disciples to 
wait and watch for it. Socrates, in particular, encour- 
aged his hearers to look for a more perfect disclosure 
of their duty to God and man. He spoke of the person 
who was to bring this intelligence as having a concern 
for them, and being ready and willing to relieve their 
minds of doubt, and even recommended the suspension 
of sacrifices until they should be informed by this ex- 
pected teacher whether or not they were acceptable to 
the Divinity. 

How extensively this sentiment prevailed, it is diffi- 
cult to determine. The necessity for such a messenger 
must have been always felt. This feeling would natur- 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 57 

ally prompt desire, and desire would as naturally tend 
toward expectation. There was, however, another 
excitant of such an expectation. I mean, acquaintance 
with the Jews. A number of the philosophers are very 
justly supposed to have been aware of Jewish opinions. 
Plato, in particular, has been described as "Moses, 
speaking in Greek." About the time of our Saviour's 
appearance, the communion of the two races was con- 
stant and intimate. Doubtless, therefore, the universal 
and authoritative anticipations of the Jews confirmed 
and extended the vague notions of the Greeks: the 
hopes of the two nations being modified by their ancient 
characteristics — the Jews, ever looking for a conqueror, 
and the Greeks, for a sage. 

Still, the Greeks of this class resembled those pre- 
viously noticed. They, also, had no fellowship with 
anything directly opposed to their own philosophy. 
They desired an extraordinary teacher, not to destroy 
it, but to improve and make it perfect. Regarding it 
already as their highest boast, they only wished to see 
its errors removed, its defects supplied, its uncertainties 
relieved, its truth sanctioned, and its authority estab- 
lished. They desired it to be perpetuated forever ; the 
most precious memorial of their ancestry, and the richest 
inheritance for their posterity : its olden honors unfaded, 
its new glories ever increasing ; at once, the light, the 
life, and the law of the world. 

Such, then, being the character of the wisdom sought 
by the Greeks, it is not difficult to determine why they 
rejected the doctrine of the Apostles. 

Their object was the perfection of their national 
philosophy : the philosophy of reason, affording a refuge 
from the complex vanities of mythology, and imparting 
a tone of comparative dignity to moral principle, to 



58 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

speculative thought, to practical conduct, to the logic 
and rhetoric of all eloquence, and to the taste and beauty 
of all poetry and art. It was this they so sedulously 
sought : the further understanding of it, as it was, by 
those who, before, had only traditionally and popularly 
admired it; and the consummation of its pretensions, 
in unimprovable excellency, on the part of those who 
had studied it most thoroughly, and were therefore best 
acquainted with its wants — an end which could be 
secured only by the coming of the greatly needed, 
ardently desired, and widely expected superhuman 
instructor. 

They, therefore, like the Jews, made little if any 
objection to the Apostolic assertion of the nature, ex- 
pectation, advent, person, or character of Christ, ab- 
stractly; but they objected, as strongly as the Jews 
themselves, to the proclaimed manner and design of 
his coming, and to the instruments and means employed 
in the advancement of his cause. 

"What ! they would exclaim — Has the Christ come ? 
"Where is he? Who is he? And the Apostles would 
answer — Jesus of Nazareth! 

What! they would object — Jesus of Nazareth, the 
Christ ! Where is the wisdom of this announcement ? 
Was there ever such an exhibition of folly? 

Out of your own mouths we condemn you. Was 
he not a Jew? And shall a Jew teach a Greek? Nay, 
was he not an uneducated Jew? At whose feet did 
he learn philosophy ? What foreign lands did he visit ? 
What national mysteries did he explore? What illus- 
trious centres of civilization, what courts, what schools, 
what temples, ever beheld him at their gates? Or if, 
indeed, it must be supposed, that a young Galilean car- 
penter, untaught and untraveled, could really be supe- 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 59 

rior to instruction, where are the demonstrations that 
lie was so ? Where are the proofs of his original and 
divine genius ? What matchless system did he invent ? 
Where shall we find his physics, his metaphysics, his 
morals? Are the trifling fragments you occasionally 
recite, all you have to show ? What are these but mere 
truisms, and scraps of fancies ? There is no argument 
in them, no eloquence. There is no theorizing, no anal- 
ysis, no synthesis, no lofty abstraction, no elaboration 
in any way of any grand scheme of things. Why, even 
the ordinary attractions of style are wanting ! Is this the 
Christ? Is this the wise man ? But — what should you 
know of wisdom ! 

And then, his death ! To think that the Deity would 
take so much pains to send a special teacher into the 
world, and, after all, suffer him to be hung upon a 
cross! Who can receive such a statement? It is un- 
utterably foolish ! 

And, moreover, the design of his death ! the remis- 
sion of sins, the salvation of the world ! What ! shall 
Greeks depend upon the crucifixion of a Jew, for the 
forgivness of their sins ? Astonishing absurdity ! If, 
indeed, atonement be necessary, we have our own altars, 
and our own sacrifices. Besides, we wish no physical 
suffering in our behalf; especially none on the part of 
a man and a friend. We seek mental development 
and culture ; not death, but truth ; not blood, but 
wisdom. 

And ye — his surviving companions and professed 
instruments — who are ye? Where is your genius? 
Where your learning ? Where your eloquence ? Illite- 
rate stammerers are ye all ! And are ye the preachers 
of a new doctrine ? the heralds of a new era ? Ineffably 
ridiculous ! 



60 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

But, what is your object? Ha! can it be, that yon 
presume to assail and expect to overthrow the authority 
of Zeno and Plato, of Aristotle and Epicurus, by such 
a delusion as this ? Is this the way to scatter the dis- 
ciples of the Porch and the Academy, of the Walk and 
the Garden ? Shall the laurels of Greece be suspended 
as trophies on the cross of Calvary ? Amazing infatu- 
ation ! Unparalleled folly ! 

So much for the fact, that the doctrine of Christ 
crucified was foolishness to the Greeks. They sought 
after wisdom, and surely this was right. They could 
not have made a nobler search. 

But, with a littleness of spirit deserving to be con- 
nected with the bigotry of the Jews, they confined the 
application of the term to their own philosophy. This 
exclusive attachment to national wisdom, like that of 
the Jews to national power, was at once a fault and a 
misfortune. 

Had it not been for this, they might have considered 
that, as their philosophy was the product of unaided 
reason, there was a possibility, at least, of its doctrines 
being erroneous, and its measures inappropriate. Its 
doctrines were erroneous ; its measures were inappro- 
priate. It was an attempt to reform the world, without 
knowing the cause of its evils, and, of course, without 
knowing how to remove them. Unable to trace the 
stream of corruption to its fountain, they could only 
throw dams across its channel : lost labor ! succeeded 
by instant swellings and terrible overflows. It was 
wisdom, beginning in ignorance, advancing by mistakes, 
and ending in utter disappointment. What, then, was 
it worth ? It was essentially wrong, formally w T rong, 
all wrong. It could not be perfected. It could not be 
improved. It could not be perpetuated, as it was. It 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 61 

was a structure fit for nothing but to be pulled down, 
displaced, and substituted by one of better materials, 
better founded, and better built. And yet, the admirers 
of this wisdom contemned the Gospel as folly. 

But, further, had it not been for this national preju- 
dice, instead of deriding the Gospel, they might have 
seen and acknowledged its divine distinctions. The 
despised doctrine of Christ crucified, revealed at once 
the cause and the cure of all human woe. It made the 
way plain, and the work easy. It comprehended all 
that was wanted, and all that could be wished. 

Still, to their current apprehension, it remained fool- 
ishness. It was as much a stumbling-block to the 
Greeks, because of its supposed absurdity, as it was to 
the Jews on account of its imagined imbecility. The 
Greeks also, like the Jews, fell over it. The Greeks 
also, like the Jews, deserved to fall. Their zeal 
for wisdom was more a matter of selfishness than be- 
nevolence ; of patriotism, than of philanthropy. They 
also preferred their own renown to the welfare of the 
world ; the glory of one people, to the illumination and 
elevation of all mankind. How different was this from 
the spirit of Christ ! When, not long before his death, 
some of the Greeks desired to see him, and were ad- 
mitted into his presence — how strangely must have 
sounded in their ears the wisdom that fell from his lips, 
as he signified this self-sacrificing but all-redeeming 
close of his career, by the saying: "And I, if I be 
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." 

Having thus reviewed the reputed feebleness and 
folly of the Apostolic proclamation among the unbe- 
lieving Jews and Greeks, the remaining point, as inti- 
mated, requires but few words. 



62 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

III. A GLANCE, IN CONCLUSION, AT ITS REAL AND DIVINE 
POWER AND WISDOM. 

How distinctly the two races we have noticed are 
characterized! How strongly they are contrasted! 
See ! The Jew — with a religion from God : revealed, 
authoritative, sanctioned and confirmed by miracles 
The Greek — with a philosophy derived from nature 
speculative, uncertain, and without due sanctions or 
obligations ! The Jew — haughty with his divine honors, 
official eminency, and anticipated destiny ! The Greek — 
proud of his personal superiority: the mental expan- 
sion, invigoration and elevation, resulting from self- 
discipline — the accomplishments of the finest genius, 
exercising itself in the study of all things profound, 
beautiful and sublime ! And, therefore, the Jew — 
always requiring a sign: the Greek — always seeking 
after wisdom ! 

They are both in training for a better system : the 
Jew, for a transition from stately pomp to spiritual 
glory ; the Greek, for a change from human researches 
to divine disclosures. 

And yet, see how they pervert the purpose of their 
Maker. "Why does the Jew so highly value the inter- 
positions of divine power ? Because of their effect in 
the establishment of national sovereignty ! And why 
does the Greek so highly value the attainments of 
human reason ? Because of their procurement of 
national renown ! What does the Jew hope for ? Po- 
litical supremacy! And what does the Greek hope 
for? Intellectual dominion! Their objects are social, 
and, therefore, perishable. They are confined, in each 
case, to a nation ; and, therefore, are confined to earth 
and time. They have nothing to do with either im- 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 63 

mensity or eternity. They are both destined to disap- 
pointment: for such objects, and the motives which 
prompt them, are all in contravention of the plans of 
God. They are too little, too mean, too contemptible 
for the Almighty longer to endure. 

Behold ! I see a third cause rising ! And what is 
this ? It is the cause of Christ crucified ! Here is 
power, here is wisdom : not power alone, not wisdom 
alone — but, power and wisdom both ! E"ot the power of 
man, and not the wisdom of man, but the power of 
God, and the wisdom of God ! Not to crown Judah 
with gold, not to garland Grecia with laurels, not to 
distinguish any nation as a nation, but to save "them 
which are called, both Jews and Greeks : " to save Indi- 
viduals, of all nations : to save the immortal brother- 
hood of personal believers in Christ Jesus, our common 
Lord : to save them with a free and full, spiritual and 
natural, blissful and glorious, present and perfect and 
everlasting salvation : to make the grandeur and splen- 
dor of empire and fame dwindle and darken into vanity 
and nothingness, in comparison with the redemption 
of a single soul, quickened by the breath of the Eter- 
nal, and thrilling with the assurance of surviving the 
dissolution of all the kingdoms of the world, and 
increasing in perpetual glory when the light of the sun 
shall be obscured forever. 

And hark! Three thousand happy voices ascend 
from the blood-stained streets of Jerusalem in Pente- 
costal thanksgivings! City after city, country after 
country, join the cry. Age follows age, and still the 
marching of the saints shakes the world like an earth- 
quake ; and the thunder of their praise resounds through 
the skies from pole to pole. Jerusalem is cast down : 
Athens languishes : and Rome grows old and decays. 



64 CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

The wondering barbarians crowd the capitals of the 
West, and the voluptuous infidels usurp the gardens of 
the East. The thrones of Europe are established. The 
powers of the East begin to fail. And now, the land 
of the sunset, the last and best, the loveliest and rich- 
est expanse ever opened to equal dignity and enjoy- 
ment, looms between the seas and blooms among the 
billows, all green and golden, all fruitful and roseate ; 
its fadeless valleys shining and singing with thousands 
of streams, and its purple mountains hushed into rap- 
ture by visions of beauty and peace through all the 
evening air. 

But thou, Judah ! "Where is thy crown ? Where 
is thy sceptre ? Where is thy throne ? And where is 
the harp of thy majesty and joy ? All buried, long 
buried, deep buried, at the foot of Calvary's cross! 
And where are thy sons and daughters ? All scattered, 
long scattered, far scattered — the only landless, city- 
less, homeless race under the whole heavens ! And 
thou, Grecia ! Where is thy wisdom ? Speak, Socrates ! 
Speak, Plato ! Speak, all ye divinities of philosophy 
and eloquence ! — speak ! Alas ! the immortals are no 
more ! Thy laurels, Athens ! were hung upon the 
beam abhorred ; until, fading and falling, they crumbled 
and mingled with the dust beneath. And now, the 
voice of thy fame is the fainting echo of the long-gone 
past. 

But thou, Christianity ! thou Power of God ! thou 
Wisdom of God ! thou Angel from heaven ! thou Spirit 
of the cross ! — tell me ! where art thou ? Methinks she 
answers with a smile, Ask "them which are called! " 
I do ask them. And hark ! they answer ! From the 
continents, they answer. From the islands, they an- 
swer. From the mid-mountains, and from the mid- 



CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 65 

oceans, they answer. From pole to pole, and from the 
whole equator, they answer. In all tongues, they 
answer. From all conditions, they answer. But, with 
one joy, they answer, Here ! here ! here ! — and every- 
where ! In every land, on every wave, through every 
clime ! Here is upraised the cross of Christ ! Here, 
the potentates and magnates are all forgotten in the 
spectacle of the Crucified ! Here, the power of Cod is 
felt ! Here, the wisdom of God is understood ! Here, 
the subjects of salvation look around upon the world. 
to bless it with their labors of faith and love ; and look 
up to heaven, to claim it for their holy and perpetual 
rest! 

Brethren ! Sisters ! what is stronger than Jewish 
pride? What, more invincible than Grecian vanity? 
What, more fearful than Roman domination ? What, 
more impenetrable than Gothic ignorance ? What, more 
cruel than Mohammedan sensualism? What, more 
oppressive than Brahminical superstitions? What, 
more enthralling than Savage fetichism ? What, more 
hopeless than the condition of all people in past ages ? 
And yet, to a great extent — -to an extent absolutely 
demonstrative of the divine adequacy of its ability to 
the full accomplishment of its predicted destiny — 
Christianity has already triumphed over the combined 
opposition of all. 

The prospect brightens. The vapors of the night 
have risen and withdrawn. The dews of the morning 
have sparkled and vanished. The sward is all beauty. 
The sky is all glory. ' Tis almost noon ! Behold the 
shadows — how short they are ! Shine on, Sun of 
Righteousness ! shine on. Secure thy cloudless sphere, 
sublime and supreme, in the midst of heaven. Let 
thy reign be complete, universal and everlasting. Ah ! 



6Q CHRIST CRUCIFIED. 

Living Sun ! expand thy healing wings — the wings which 
never yet shed sin, or grief, or death, or any ill ! Shake 
all thy plumes divine : thy plumes of light, and life, 
and love : shake wide thy plumes above immortal na- 
tions ! Disperse thy rays, diffuse thy beams, from the 
zenith to the horizon, from the centre to the circum 
ference; and fill the scope entire with the pure and 
quickening elements of perfect and endless day. 

Alas ! how vain our efforts ! How infinitely inferior 
to our theme and our wish ! Our refuge is — the cross. 
Our hope is — in prayer. May God "pour upon the 
house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,'* 
and upon the Jews of all lands, and upon the Gentiles 
of all nations, "the spirit of grace and of supplication," 
that they may "look upon" him "whom they have 
pierced, and mourn for him, as one mourneth for his 
only son, and be in bitterness for him, as one that is 
in bitterness for his first-born." So may it be with our- 
selves ! So may we be prepared to take part with the 
"great multitude which no man" can "number, of all 
nations, and kindred, and people, and tongues," which 
stand "before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed 
with white robes, and palms in their hands; and" cry- 
ing, "with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God 
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb;" 
while "all the angels " stand "round about the throne, 
and about the Elders, and the four beasts, and 'fall' 
before the throne on their faces, and 'worship' God, 
saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and 
thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be 
unto our God forever and ever. Amen." 



CHARACTER AND RELATIONS 



CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves 
your servants for Jesus' sake." — 2 Cor. Ch. iv: 4, 5. 

With prayer and hope toward God, with respect and 
affection for my auditory, I proceed, at once, to the 
consideration of the subject suggested by the text — 
The Character and Relations of the Christian 
Ministry: its Character — as a Ministry; its Rela- 
tions — as the People s Ministry, and, as Christ's Ministry. 

I. THE CHARACTER OF THE MINISTRY. 

The structure of the text is elliptical : but its meaning 
is so obvious and indisputable, that no objection can 
be anticipated to the supply of the ellipsis. Thus sup- 
plied, it reads as follows: — "For we preach, not our- 
selves as Lords, but, Christ Jesus as the Lord; and 
ourselves, your servants for Jesus' sake." 

The point before us, therefore, is presented both 
negatively and positively. We are not lords: we are 
servants. We are ministers: and nothing more than 
ministers. 

This is a subject which every American Christian 
should clearly understand. Like those which are to 
come after, it involves the wisdom of God and the 
welfare of man. 

(67) 



68 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

As American Christians, there are two things which, 
from our very childhood, we have been taught to abhor, 
I mean — king-craft and priest-craft. We must all, 
indeed, be aware that these epithets are often shamefully 
misapplied by worldly and infidel scoffers at religion, 
and revilers of all just authority. They stigmatize the 
true ministry — notwithstanding its purity, humility, 
and self-denying zeal and toil — as a system of priest- 
craft. And, in like manner, they denounce the most 
wisely constituted civil magistracy — notwithstanding 
the constant employment of all its resources in the dis- 
tribution of common blessings— as a sort of king-craft. 
On the other hand, we must also be aware of the fact, 
that there are too many among us, who so highly ven- 
erate official character, both in Church and State, as to 
be apparently incapable of discerning the threatening 
developments of the essential principles of priest-craft 
and king-craft, because their practical forms are dis- 
guised under other and inoffensive names. 

Still, there is a medium between these extremes, 
which it is our duty and interest to distinguish and 
hold. It is the Bible ground — the ground of truth and 
right. "We should be vigilant, that we may detect; 
bold, that we may rebuke ; firm, that we may oppose ; 
and strong, that we may suppress — all tyranny, whether 
in Church or State ; all invasions of the privileges and 
hopes of the many by the few; all the principles of 
priest-craft and king-craft, let their forms be disguised 
as they may. At the same time, we should be equally 
vigilant, to detect; equally bold, to rebuke; equally 
firm, to oppose ; and equally strong, to suppress — the 
grosser tyranny of infidelity and anarchy ; the malig- 
nant efforts of those who would banish from the world, 
not only kings and priests, but, the true preachers of 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 69 

the Gospel, and the rightful executors of law with 
them, and the Bible with these, and Christ with the 
Bible, and God with Christ; and then, having done 
their utmost to divest the earth of its last resemblance 
to heaven, would consummate their plans by making 
it a complete counter-part of hell — building thrones 
and altars for all the devils in perdition, and substituting, 
for the dominion of law and the worship of goodness, 
the bloody despotism of every thing cruel, and the 
beastly orgies of every thing vile. 

I repeat, that it is a matter of infinite importance to 
our country, that the true character of the Christian 
Ministry be duly understood. There are two reasons, 
in particular, why this is so important. 

The first reason is — that the American people, if faith- 
ful to their high mission as the social regenerators 
of the world, will never submit to priest-craft. It were 
equally a sin and a shame, if they should. Our fore- 
fathers fled from it. They crossed the ocean, to escape 
it. They preferred a wilderness to a paradise ; caverns 
to palaces ; and barbarian dangers to civilized endear- 
ments — rather than offend their consciences and their 
God, by submission to its unholy usurpations. "We, 
as their descendants, remember their deeds and cherish 
their spirit. We cannot, we will not, succumb, to 
what they so indignantly spurned. Our descendants 
shall remember our deeds and cherish our spirit. We 
will teach them to abhor what we were taught to abhor. 
We will make them understand, that even king-craft 
is innocent in comparison with priest-craft: for the 
former only, or chiefly, enslaves the body, but the latter 
enslaves the soul. Free from both, from the beginning 
until now, our nation is the only one so distinguished 
in the history of the world. Let it remain so forever ! 



70 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

The second reason is — that the American people, if 
true to their trust, will never cease to sustain the genuine 
Ministry of the Gospel. It was the true ministry that 
fled hither from the false ministry. The corner-stone 
of our national temple was laid by their hands— with 
the Bible put in it, and the seal set upon it, in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. Their labors have blest every stone which has 
been added to its walls, from that day to this : and it 
would be as disrespectful to the people as sorrowful to 
themselves to do otherwise than suppose, that, when 
the cap-stone shall be brought forth amidst the rejoic- 
ings of more than a hundred millions of freemen, these 
same ministers will be honored with the holy duty of 
dedicating it, in all its magnificence, to the perpetual 
service and glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
Indeed, without them, the peerless pile would soon 
emulate the hoariest ruins of all the past. 

Surely the reasons thus intimated are all-sufficient to 
engage attention to this great subject. If the Gospel 
ministry, in some form, is certain of maintenance and 
influence, the proper character of it ought to be studied 
and understood. If the false ministry be so full of 
mischief, and the true ministry so fruitful of good — 
the decisive marks by which they may be distinguished 
ought to be thoroughly known, and become matter of 
common and daily application. 

How could its proper character be more strongly 
stated, than it is in the text? What marks could be 
more distinctive or decisive than those which are here 
presented ? Look at them again : 

The first is this — " We are not Lords." We are 
neither lords temporal nor lords spiritual. We aspire 
to no dominion in Church or State — over " God's heri- 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 71 

tage" or over Caesar's heritage. This, surely, is plain 
enough. It cannot be made plainer. Perhaps, however, 
it may be made more impressive. In order to this, 
consider who it is that speaks, and for whom he speaks. 
The speaker is the Apostle Paul ; and he represents all 
the Apostles. Even he was not a lord. Even they 
were not lords. They all disclaimed all such preten- 
sions. They would not consent that any should make 
them lords, or call them lords. And yet — they were 
the elect and triumphant revolutionists of the world ! 
And yet — they were the inspired and infallible law- 
givers of the Church ! And yet — they held the power 
of miracles, controlling the bodies of men ! And yet — 
they held the gift of tongues, commanding the souls of 
men ! And yet — to say all in a word — the " Spirit of 
glory and of God " rested upon them, and lived in them, 
and thrilled the nations through them ! But — they 
preached not themselves as lords. They would have 
been afraid to do it. They would have been ashamed 
to do it. They would have been afraid and ashamed 
to suffer themselves to be so represented by others. 
Had they done it, the Spirit would have abandoned 
them in the first moment of their treachery, and their 
own nothingness would rightly have challenged the 
contempt of their foes. 

What then ? Can any fail to understand the mark ? 
Can any mistake, in applying it ? "Wherever you see 
a minister who claims lordship — mark him ! Mark 
him as a false minister. Let his other pretensions be 
what they may, he is a false minister. Though he 
multiply ten thousand proofs that he is even a successor' 
of the Apostles — this one mark disproves them all 
Is he a lord? That's enough! His doom is fixed.. 
Paul was not a lord. Peter was not a lord. James 



iZ CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

was not a lord. John was not a lord. Among all the 
Apostles, there was not one lord. Lords succeed lords. 
He is no successor of theirs ! So, wherever yon see a 
body of ministers who claim lordship — who pretend to 
exercise dominion over the faith or worship of the 
people — mark them! Mark them as false ministers 
They may plead what authority they please. Howevei 
ancient, however venerable, however influential, in 
other relations, it may be — here it is " nothing, and less 
than nothing, and vanity." The body of Apostles 
were not lords. In all the ecclesiastical assemblies of 
their age, there appeared not a single lord. In all the 
Bible, there is no patent for such a peerage. Wherever 
their patents come from, they barter their Bibles for 
them. They are traitors to the ministry. They sell 
themselves to evil ; and purchase condemnation with 
the price of their crime. 

But, look at the second mark — -"We are servants." 
We are, what our title declares, ministers — -mere min- 
isters. This cannot be made plainer. Still, as before, 
its impressiveness may be heightened by the Apostolic 
example. [Not only did they disclaim lordship; not 
only did they declare themselves servants ; but — they 
showed themselves servants. Their whole life was a 
ceaseless ministry. Their divine distinctions, instead 
of persuading them to repose, urged them the more to 
excel also in toil. If the church labored, the Apostles 
labored abundantly ; and the greatest of the Apostles 
more abundantly than any other. Never were servants 
so faithful to their instructions, so diligent in their 
duties, so self-sacrificing in their habits, so careful of 
their trusts, so devoted, living and dying, to their 
Master and his cause. 

What then ? Is any thing easier ? Apply the mark. 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 73 

Wherever you see a minister, who is one in fact as well 
as in name ; who acknowledges himself a servant, and 
proves himself a servant ; who cleaves to his original 
and divine instructions, in sublime disregard of the 
contemptible contraventions of human ambition ; who 
discharges his obligations, under all vicissitudes, with 
obvious reference to the prosperity of his work, rather 
than his own honor, emolument, or ease ; who is ever 
ready to do good, to any individual or any society, in 
any and every way in his power, and without watching 
the connexions of personal or party advantage, in the 
result ; who studies the truth that he may know it, and 
loves it as soon as he learns it, and preaches it because 
he loves it, and as he loves it — with all his heart, mind, 
soul, and strength — and exemplifies its redeeming and 
sanctifying power in his own deportment — -mark him 
as a true minister. And, wherever you see a body of 
such — mark them all as true ministers. Such are the 
successors of the Apostles. Paul was such an one. 
So was Peter. So was James. So was John. Such 
were they all. And such have all their true successors 
been. Such were many of our forefathers. Such are 
many of their descendants. Such the true ministry 
ever will be. These are servants ; they render service, 
great service, inestimable service, indispensable ser- 
vice. I cannot dwell upon its details. Suffice it to 
say, such ministers deserve to be sustained here ; and 
are sure to be rewarded hereafter. In the Last Day, 
they shall hear the approval and welcome which will 
pay for all days — -"Well done, good and faithful ser- 
vants, enter ye into the joy of your Lord." 

With these general and condensed observations on 
the character of the Christian ministry, I pass to the 



74 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

second point — only concluding this by the statement — 
that there can be no doubt, that the prevalence of 
priestly lordship, under all forms of false religion, and 
the tendency toward it, even in connexion with the 
true religion, in all lands and ages — are the reasons 
why the E"ew Testament so carefully guards the church 
and warns the world against it : and surely American 
Christians, even above all others, are under obligation 
to hold up the fact to admiring and rejoicing nations — 
that Jesus Christ, the only Lord of all the world, has, 
from the very beginning, most solemnly proclaimed, 
that there is no authorized priestly domination in all 
his empire. Wherever such is found, therefore, its 
claims should be denied, its power should be resisted, 
and its institutions should be overthrown. 

Having thus glanced at the character of the Ministry, 
let us now notice its relations. These are, as already 
stated: 1. Its Relation to the People: 2. Its Relation 
to Christ. 

This, then, is the first point here — that the gospel 
ministry is the people's ministry — a point, as it seems 
to me, of no little interest. 

The whole subject is admirably comprehended in the 
terms of the Great Commission, as recorded by Mark : 
" Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to 
every creature. ' ' See how beautifully these terms apply 
to the two distinctive methods of ministerial operation — 
Foreign and Home Missions. " Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the Gospel." There is the specific 
warrant for Foreign Missions. "Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." 
There is the specific warrant for Home Missions. The 
former describes the amplest outline that is possible ; 
the latter, the most minute filling up that is possible. 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 75 

~Not a single spot on the globe, not a single individual 
of our race, is omitted. 

Sometimes it is interesting and profitable to bring 
out the meaning of Scriptures by simple emphasis, and 
amplification. Let us try this plan here, in connexion 
with Foreign Missions. See : — 

"Gfo-!" Do not wait for the world to come to you. 
Do not wait for the world to call you to come to it. 
Do not wait for the church to send you to the world. 
If the world come, if the world call, if the church send — 
well: avail yourselves of such advantages. But, stay 
not for want of them. Go — because the world needs 
you. Go — because I send you. Go — in my name. 
Go — in my spirit. Go — in my company. Go — for — 
u Lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
ivorld /" 

Again, " Go ye /" Ye — my chosen Apostles. Ye — 
mine elect, of all lands and all ages, the true successors 
of the Apostles. Ye — not only my Apostles' successors, 
but, more than this, my own successors. Go ye — 
whether others go or stay. If selfishness detain them 
at home, if dangers daunt them abroad, let it not be so 
with you. If they will stay, let them stay : but as for 
ye— go I 

Again, " Go ye into the world!" Think not Judea ; 
or, Judea and Samaria ; or, Judea, Samaria, and Gali- 
lee — may limit your range. Even under the Levitical 
Institute, the priesthood had no compact territorial allot- 
ment, like the other tribes. Their scattered cities, were 
half on the hither side of Jordan, and half on the thither 
side of Jordan : and their ministry was the ministry of 
the nation. That Institute is abolished. That priest- 
hood is no more. Under the new and better covenant, 
there is but one altar, one sacrifice, and one priest. That 



76 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

altar has been stained once; but will be stained no 
more. That sacrifice has been offered once; and will 
never be repeated. That priest is immortal; and shall 
never be superseded by another. Calvary was the 
altar; my body was the sacrifice; and my spirit, the 
priest. Ye are mere preachers. Your duties are 
simple — that }^our sphere may be boundless. You have 
no cities, at all; and no country, at all. Your "field 
is the world." Free from the toil and care of the altar 
and the shrine, elevated to spiritual and holier dignities ; 
as it becomes you to scorn for an inheritance, the oasian 
towns of the Levites, and to scorn for your ministry, 
the borders of Palestine alone— even from Dan to Beer- 
sheba, and from Gilead to the Great Sea : so you must 
learn to disdain Antioch, and Corinth, and Ephesus, 
and Athens, and the farthest flights of the eagles of 
imperial Rome — still, and forever, challenging the 
regions beyond to the utmost expansions of the globe. 
E~or only so, but, if additional emphasis be needed — 
" Go ye into all the world !" Ye know not now what 
is meant by all the world. The proudest sovereigns, 
enlightened by all the intelligence of war and commerce, 
have no conception of its meaning. I made the world. 
I know what it is. I anticipate the progress of dis- 
covery. I contemplate the time when what you style 
the Great Sea shall dwindle into littleness ; and what 
you call the whole world shall appear as a small part of 
it : when the equator shall be girdled, and both poles 
shall be grasped, and every island be numbered, and 
every continent be explored. To you, therefore, and 
your true successors, I give the charge — Follow Provi- 
dence, wherever it leads. Become the best practical 
geographers, topographers, and statisticians, in the 
world. Remember, that however partial other enter- 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 77 

prises may be, yours is universal. However rapidly 
caravans, armies, and fleets may pursue the shortest 
routes by land and sea; and however transiently mer- 
chants, pilgrims, soldiers, and sailors may touch at 
attractive points, and be gone again — -it is your duty, 
patiently and perseveringly, to spread abroad, and fill 
up the entire circle of the earth, and so " occupy till I 
come." 

Again: "Go ye into all the world, and — -preach the 
Gospel." This is your distinctive office. Preach the 
Gospel — -as I have preached it. Preach the Gospel — as 
I have taught you to preach it. Preach the Gospel- — as, 
hereafter, my Spirit shall teach you to preach it. 
Preach it, not only as a Gospel, but, as the Gospel — -not 
only as glad-tidings, but, as the glad-tidings, infinitely 
more gladdening than any other tidings ever heard. 
Preach it — not prove it. You might as well attempt 
to prove that sunshine is from heaven, as to prove that 
the Gospel is from heaven. Only preach it — -and it will 
prove itself, as sunshine proves itself. Preach it — all 
heaven would exult to preach it. Preach it — -all the 
earth languishes to hear it preached. Preach it every- 
where : for sin is everywhere. Preach it everywhere : 
for sorrow is everywhere. Preach it everyivhere: for 
death is everywhere. Preach it everywhere: for there 
is no other hope, anywhere. Preach it — -as salvation 
from sin. Preach it — as salvation from sorrow. Preach 
it — as salvation from death. In all the world, to the 
end of the world, this is your whole office— to preach 
the Gospel. 

But, let us turn a moment to the topic of Home Mis- 
sions. See ! " Go ye into all the world, and preach 
the Gospel to every creature." 

You are not only to go from city to city, from country 



78 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

to country, and, ultimately, from ocean to ocean and 
from pole to pole : you are not only to follow Provi- 
dence until the circumference of the earth is completely 
disclosed, and practically brought within your range : 
but, moreover, you are to make thorough search into 
every section of every continent, coast and island; of 
every city, town, and village ; of every street, lane, and 
alley ; of every house on the land, and every boat on 
the wave, and every dark and dreary mine under the 
land and under the wave. And not only wherever man 
is, but also whatever he is — the Gospel should find him. 
Whether young or old, rich or poor, bond or free, en- 
lightened or ignorant, vicious or virtuous, wretched or 
happy, sick or well, living or dying — the Gospel has 
grace and glory for every one. As the air encloses the 
globe, and is breathed by every animate thing, so the 
Gospel is designed, not only for diffusion about our 
race at large, but as the element of constant spiritual 
life to every individual soul. "Preach the Gospel to 
every creature" 

Now surely there is nothing so magnificent and 
sublime as this, in any merely human undertaking. 
I dwell upon it, because of its illustrating the position — 
that the Gospel ministry is the People s ministry. "For 
we preach not ourselves" as Lords, "but Christ Jesus" 
as "the Lord; and ourselves" merely as " your servants, 
for Jesus' sake." 

See ! Jesus Christ, as the Lord of the world, sends 
no Ambassadors to worldly powers. He neither asks, 
desires, nor needs their help. Earthly governments do 
this, among themselves — for to them it is indispensable. 
To what Court do not Nicholas, Francis Joseph, Louis 
Napoleon, and Victoria send Ambassadors? Where 
is the National Authority in the presence of which 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 79 

some Messenger of the United States stands not up ? 
Have we not sent Lawrence to England ? and Barringer, 
to Spain? and Rives, to France? and Barnard, to 
Prussia ? and Brown, to Russia ? and Marsh, to Turkey ? 
and Homes, to China? and Peyton, to Chili? and 
Schenck, to Brazil ? and Letcher, to Mexico ? "Was it 
not always so ? — and under present relations, must it 
not always be so? But what Sovereign, except the 
Lord Jesus Christ, ever sent ambassadors to the People ? 
I repeat that — "What other Sovereign ever sent ambas- 
sadors to any people, much less to all people ? How 
shall we account for this phenomenon in the history of 
the world? Surely, as he himself declared, his "king- 
dom is not of this world ! " It is not like other kingdoms. 
It seeks not simple recognition and acknowledgment 
within any assigned and limited locality. It comes to 
"break in pieces and consume all other kingdoms." 
It allows them not, in their own right, a grain of sand, 
or drop of water, or breath of air : but claims the per- 
fect sphere as its own inheritance. And so with its 
King. He is not of this world. He is not like other 
kings. He seeks no brotherly alliance with any auto- 
crat in existence. He cares not, except for themselves, 
whether earthly monarchs confess or reject his authority. 
He is "King of kings, and Lord of lords:" and they 
must either bend or break beneath the blast of his 
power. He sends no embassage to them : unless, it 
may be, a pale prisoner, now and then, like Paul — to 
rattle his chains in their hearing, and make them 
tremble on their thrones, and sigh to be like their 
victim. When did he commission an ambassador to 
Pilate ? or to Herod ? or to Festus ? or to Felix ? or to 
Agrippa ? or to Augustus ? 2Tor sends he any now. 
True, there may be, and are, those who seem to 



80 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

regard themselves as called to this office. But they 
have mistaken the State's call for Christ's call; and 
"the honor that cometh from man," for that " which 
cometh from God," Therefore, they are ^honored. 
Lounging in palaces ; luxuriating in festivals ; and 
simpering in the smiles of iniquitous royalty — pretty 
specimens are they of the ambassadors of Christ. Let 
them show their credentials ! Are there any wounds 
in their feet ?— any wounds in their hands ?■ — any wounds 
in their sides ? Is there even a scourge .mark on their 
shoulders ?— or a thorn print on their brows ? Again, I 
say — -let them show their credentials !— and let them 
beware lest they show gems for tears and wine for 
blood. Such are not the seals of the successors of the 
Apostles — -of the true ministers of Christ, 

No — no : Christ sends not his ambassadors to Courts. 
They live not in a queen's smile : nor on a king's com- 
pliments. He invests them with a higher honor. He 
sends them to the People ! As though there were no 
other sovereign on earth, or none to be regarded — 
without leave of any, independently of the help of any, 
and careless of the opposition of any, he sends his 
plenipotentiaries, ordinary and extraordinary, to all 
people. Let their rulers, if they dare, "take counsel 
together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, 
saying — Let us break their bands asunder and cast 
away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the 
heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in 
derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, 
and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set 
my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the 
decree : the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son ; 
this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall 
give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 81 

uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou 
shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash 
them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now, 
therefore, O ye kings : be instructed, ye judges of the 
earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with 
trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish 
from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. 
Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." 

There is God's own proclamation of our Lord Jesus 
Christ : and it invests him with the Sword of Power 
as well as with the Sceptre of Mercy. Therefore, I say 
again : Let the rulers of the people, at their peril, oppose 
his ordinations. "What! shall mere human sovereigns 
claim the people as their own, and prohibit Christ's 
ambassadors from addressing them ? Shall the savage 
Q"een of Madagascar, or the half-civilized Emperors 
of China and Japan, or any other heathen authorities, 
deny them admittance? Shall any of the Asian or 
African Mohammedan Powers, uninfluenced by the 
example of the European Sultan, meet them on their 
borders, and bid them away ? Shall the Greek Church, 
and its degenerate Oriental allies, challenge them in the 
name of Christ himself, accuse them falsely, and em- 
barrass their holy work ? And, moreover, meaner than 
even the meanest Paganism, shall the Roman Church, 
at the same time that it accepts and abuses the liberty 
allowed it in most Protestant States — guard its own 
grey coasts with walls of fire, and fill its dull ports and 
relic-posted capitals with inquisitions and dungeons, 
with spies and executioners, to prevent "the truth as 
it is in Jesus" from coming "home to the business and 
bosoms" of its ignorant and oppressed masses? For- 
getting its anathemas, and despising all righteous con- 
sistency, shall it make common cause with abhorred 



82 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

schisms ; conspire with every form of civil government— 
bless despotisms, flatter republics, advocate conserva- 
tism, instigate revolution, sanction usurpation — do any 
and every thing to perpetuate its own tyranny over the 
people — to keep Austria still and dark; to keep Italy 
still and dark; to keep France still and dark; to keep 
Spain still and dark; to keep Portugal still and dark; 
to keep Ireland, at least in part, still and dark ; to keep 
Mexico still and dark ; to keep South America still and 
dark : all, as still as death and as dark as the grave ? 
So be it ! — but Christ's ambassadors are not to abandon 
their Great Mission to the People for all that ! Christ 
loved the people : and his ministers must love them. 
Christ suffered for the people : and his ministers must 
suffer for them. Papists themselves have suffered 
among Mohammedans and Pagans: and Protestants 
must be willing to suffer, not only among Mohamme- 
dans and Pagans, but, among Papists, too ! True, there 
is a limit to suffering ; and a sure punishment for those 
who cause it. Christ was crucified — but lived again: 
Jerusalem was overthrown, the Jews were scattered, 
and so they remain to this day. So is it now. " Behold !" 
saith the Lord — "I send my ambassadors to the people! 
Let their way be opened, to the uttermost parts of the 
earth!" Will any refuse? "Who can doubt it? Some 
always have refused. But, as it has been with them, 
so it will be with their successors. Where the way is 
not opened — it will be cut open. This is not of choice — 
but, of necessity. Where the sceptre fails — the sword 
must follow. "The Son" prefers to be meek: but he 
can be "angry." He loves to "kiss:" but he may 
smite. As a "potter's vessel," when struck by an " iron 
rod," flies into fragments — so his enemies shall be 
dashed " in pieces." As a broad landscape is desolated 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 83 

by a whirlwind of fire, occasioned by a spark — so the 
widest opposition to Christ shall perish from his way, 
"when his wrath is kindled but a little." He loves 
the people as much as ever. If he overthrow the 
tyrants — it will be for the people's sake. He has made 
his ministry the ministry of the people ; and will see 
that they enjoy its advantages. He has given the 
commission — " Go ye into all the world and preach the 
Gospel to every creature:" and will secure the oppor- 
tunity for its fulfillment. But when ? how ? by whom ? 
I know not. It matters not. Tis not our business to 
fight; but, to preach. The Gospel, not the sword, is 
our instrument. "Vengeance is mine!" — " I will re- 
pay! — saith the Lord." Some say — "1848 is dead." 
Some say — The political exiles in Belgium, England, 
and the United States, are almost hopeless. What 
then? Who would antedate vengeance? Christ's 
time is the right time — and not only for the people of 
Europe, but for the people of the whole world. At his 
command, dead years will rise again: nay — are they 
not already rising ? — and the feeblest exiles shall become 
rods of iron, and wheels of adamant, and flames of fire, 
for the dashing of crowns to atoms, the grinding of 
thrones to powder, and the burning of kingdoms to 
ashes. Then the Gospel shall "drop as the rain," and 
the preaching of it " distil as the dew, as the small rain 
upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the 
grass." Then the ministry shall "publish the name of 
the Lord :" and the people, redeemed from the thraldom 
of ages, shall "ascribe greatness unto our God." 

Where, then, are the people f There is the place for 
the ministry! Wherever access is possible, let it be 
immediately and diligently improved. Wherever it is 
not possible, let there be a watchful waiting on Provi- 



84 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

dence, until it becomes possible. In a word, follow 
Providence, and so fill the world. 

Having thus noticed the relation of the ministry to 
the people — let ns now glance at its relation to Christ, 
As it is the people's ministry — so it is Christ's ministry. 
If the former relation be impressive, the latter is more 
so. There is only one point, however, in connexion 
with it, which I can now present. This is suggested 
by the last three words of the text: "For we preach 
not ourselves — as Lords, but Christ Jesus as the Lord ; 
and ourselves your servants — eor Jesus' sake." 

Here, if I may so express it, is the protecting clause 
of the true ministerial character and dignity. I should 
be sorry to suppose that the Apostle, on any occasion, 
condescended to the utterance of an ignoble sentiment. 
Yet, without this clause, the text would seem ignoble. 
It would be equivalent to saying — Christ is your master, 
and you are our masters. ISTow, it were quite as re- 
volting to say that the people are lords over the ministers, 
as to say, that the ministers are lords over the people. 
Some of the people are young, and ignorant, and un- 
courteous ; confined to very small circles of experience, 
enterprise, and contemplation; and unfit to venture 
beyond them. On the other hand, some of the minis- 
ters are aged, learned, refined; habituated to broad 
views of men and things ; prepared to act wisely and 
efficiently in behalf of a nation or the world. What 
then ? Shall the former class be masters of the latter ? 
Never. Again : some of the ministers are yet youthful : 
recently called from obscure situations; with less to 
recommend them than they themselves imagine — 
scarcely anything indeed save their ardent and voluble 
piety: while, on the other hand, many of the people 
are persons of high social position, polished manners, 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 85 

general intelligence, great wisdom and energy, and as 
anxious as they are able to assist in all good works, 
and leave a useful example to encourage their successors. 
"What then? Shall such ministers be masters over 
such people? Never. The whole notion of human 
mastery is inadmissible. On all sides, it is all wrong. 
One is our Master : even Christ : and we all — ministers 
and people — are brethren. 

As the text stands, however, it is all right. We are 
your servants — but, only — "for Jesus' sake." See: 
here is an intimation, both of the motive and of the 
object of our service. In another passage, the Apostle 
states them more distinctly — "For the love of Christ 
constraineth us" — see: there is the motive! — "because 
we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all 
dead, and that he died for all, that they which live 
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him 
which died for them and rose again:" — See: there is 
the object ! The motive is — love for Christ : the object 
is — self-sacrificing co-operation with Christ in the 

GREAT WORK OF REDEMPTION. 

Think of the motive, a moment. Tell me, my breth- 
ren! would any other motive than the love of Christ 
sustain an efficient people s ministry ? Apply the in- 
quiry to Some Missions. Would self-love sustain Home 
Missions ? — that is, the love of ease ? the love of wealth I 
the love of fame ? the love of power ? or any similar 
impulse ? Think of the duties of a home missionary — 
day and night; week-day and sabbath; summer and 
winter; in heat and cold; through rain and snow; 
along lanes, and alleys ; among the hovels of poverty, 
and the haunts of disease ; with the naked, and 
shivering, and hungry ; the sick, and dying, and dead — 
only think, and you will need no other answer. Even 



86 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

If settled Pastorates be included within the notion of 
Home Missions, still self-love is an insufficient motive to 
fill them with a true people's ministry. In such a 
country as ours, especially — where ease, and wealth, 
and honor, and power, are so much more accessible in 
other directions — if the ministry be not supplied with, 
mere drones, something higher and nobler than mere 
self-love must sustain it. "What then ? Would love of 
the people support the ministry in connexion with Home 
Missions ? Never. We know, too well, in this elective 
government, what this much boasted love of the people 
amounts to, without some diviner affection to purify 
and strengthen it. Love of the people, among us, is 
too often a selfish or partizan catch-word to have much 
influence among discriminating observers. It often 
contemplates any other kind of elevation than that of 
the people themselves. Besides, it is a periodical 
excitement, and soon subsides. It knows nothing of 
the steady energy necessary to support Home Missions. 
No — no : it is not either in self-love, or in love of the 
people, that the true motive of the people's ministry is 
to be found — but only in the love of Christ. Unless 
this " constrain" a man, he is not fit for this service. 

But, apply the inquiry to Foreign Missions. Would 
self-love suffice, as the motive, here? Ease? wealth? 
fame ? power ? — are they to be secured by crossing the 
widest oceans, and going into the ends of the earth? 
If so, still it were better to seek them more honestly 
than in the capacity of a Gospel missionary. What an 
awful conscience such a man would carry with him ! 
At sea, its weight would threaten to sink the ship. 
On shore, every pestilence would snuff its malaria, and 
hasten to seize him. But — all sin and shame aside — - 
how is self-love wounded, at the very embarkation 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 87 

of a foreign missionary? Home, country, kindred; 
father, mother, brothers, sisters, friends — all given up : 
not in death — not of necessity — not because of estrange- 
ment : but, in the freshness of life — in freedom of will — 
in fullness of affection : all given up, and that, perhaps, 
forever ! Ah me ! how sorely must self-love be wounded, 
on such occasions; one would think almost beyond 
recovery. "What then ? "Would love of the people suffice ? 
Surely not. What people are they ? — relatives ? 
friends? countrymen? Nay — but strangers; foreign- 
ers ; idolaters ; semi-civilized, barbarian, savage ; imbe- 
cile, ignorant, superstitious : vile in morals ; disgusting 
in their habits; treacherous, thievish, murderous. What 
are they to the missionary ? Why should he love them ? 
And yet — shall he so love them, as to relinquish the 
dearest on earth, for their sake ? Shall he so love thern,- 
as to take his young wife from her dearest, also, and 
live with them, and labor for them, and actually become 
their servant ? — and see his wife also their servant f — and 
train up whatever children God may give him, also to 
become their servants ? Surely mere love of the people 
would never lead to such results as these ! No — no : 
the love of Christ must " constrain" the ministry — or 
Foreign Missions will soon come to an end. 

The love of Christ ! Oh ! my brethren ! This is the 
motive: a reasonable motive: a sufficient motive: a 
noble and omnipotent motive. Tell me not of myself — 
of my relatives or friends ! Tell me not of the people — 
at home or abroad. Let self-love be nothing. Let 
social love be nothing. Let me forget even the selectest 
exemplars of our race : the most brave, and brilliant, 
and beautiful: the most wise, and good, and useful: 
the most exalted and extolled — the very stars in the 
firmament of our glory. Let me forget even the angels 
and archangels; the cherubim and seraphim; the 



00 CHARACTER AND RELATIONS OF 

thrones, and dominions, and principalities, and powers 
of higher and holier spheres; the most ancient, the 
most mighty, the most illustrious, of all the orders of 
creation. But — there is one Star above all other stars ; 
one Angel above all other angels ; one Name — far above 
every other name, not only in this world, but also in 
that which is to come. He is infinitely lovely : in in 
tellect, in affection, in action; in person, in position; 
retrospectively, currently, prospectively. He saw the 
first star's first sparkle, and heard the first angel's first 
song. He now surveys the splendor of the universe 
and hears the harmony of all its worlds. ' In like man- 
ner, the future flashes on his vision with intended con- 
flagrations, and charms his hearing with the music of 
new creations. Every good being in existence loves 
him. The Father so loves him that "all the fullness 
of the godhead dwelleth in him, bodily." Methinks I 
see him ! Exceeding beautiful — but pale ! Immor- 
tal — and yet wounded! I hear the inquiry — Was he 
ever wounded before ? And eternity answers — Never ! 
I hear another inquiry — "Where did he receive these 
wounds ? And immensity replies — He received them 
on earth : no other orb has known the dropping of his 
blood. But another voice asks — And why was he 
wounded? And one from the earth responds — "He 
was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for 
our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon 
him, and by his stripes we are healed." 

And what now? Do we love him, who has thus 
loved us? Do we feel the full force of this motive? 
Are we constrained by it, as the Apostle was constrained 
by it ? ' Can we honestly account for our character and 
conduct, by this constant and controlling impulse ? If 
we be sober, to the wonder of the gay; or if we be 
beside ourselves, to the astonishment of the grave : are 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 89 

we sure that our solemnity and enthusiasm are only the 
alternations of the love of Christ ? If so — if this indeed 
be our law of life — happy are we ! The motive right, 
we are prepared for the object set before us: prepared 
for self-sacrificing co-operation with the Redeemer in 
his incomparable work : prepared to become, with all 
gladness, the servants of the people — for Jesus' sake ; 
and, therefore, for the people's own salvation. This, 
it seems to me, is the true view of the subject. 

And now, in conclusion, having thus endeavored to 
present a trustworthy estimate, so far as it goes, of the 
Character and Relations of the Christian Ministry — let 
me pause, for a moment, to think, with reverence, of 
the Cross and the Throne : of him who died on the one 
and lives on the other: of his relations to the Father 
and to the Spirit, to the Bible, the Church, and the 
World: to think, moreover, of our own relations and 
responsibilities to him: and so, having paused and 
thought, let me add these brief but deliberate and 
earnest exhortations — first, to the equal brotherhood 
in whole, Let there be neither masterdom or serfdom 
in all your bounds : and, secondly, to the ministiy in 
particular, Be ye not lords : Be ye all servants : Be ye 
all the people's servants : but, above all, be ye all, and 
always, the people's servants — for Jesus' sake ! Any 
other motive, will degrade, enfeeble, and injure all 
parties concerned. In this, is our purity, dignity, and 
power. In this, is our hope, our only adequate hope, 
of usefulness to our country and to the world. And 
so — "let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: 
and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; 
yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it," 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 



"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was 
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty 
might be rich." — 2 Cor. Ch. viii: 9. 

The Design of Christ is before us : the Object which 
he had in view : the Manner in which he intended to 
make us rich. 

It is no more true, to affirm that Christ promised his 
disciples "all worldly comforts in abundance," * than it 
would be to say, that he gave them no promise at all : 
the plain fact being that he proposed to them a medium 
condition, assuring them that their heavenly Father 
would supply them, by his daily providence, with what- 
ever he should see to be needful for them ; and exhorting 
them, therefore, to exercise a grateful confidence in 
this arrangement, to dismiss the anxieties which gener- 
ally prevail in this relation, and to "seek — first, the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness." 

The object of Christ, in connexion with bur enrich- 
ment, in this world, has chief, and almost exclusive, 
respect to our spiritual interests ; and the accomplish- 
ment of his purpose, in this particular, is committed to 
the universal and perpetual, ordinary and extraordinary, 
invisible but omnipotent, agency of the Holy Ghost — 
from whom it is our privilege, personally and socially, 
freely and constantly, to receive — not, indeed, "an 

* A sceptic's assertion. 
(90) 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 91 

abundance of all worldly comforts," but — the fullness 
of all religious consolations, "the full assurance of 
understanding," "knowledge," "wisdom," and "utter- 
ance;" "faith" and "hope;" "love, joy, peace, long- 
suffering, gentleness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, and 
temperance ;" " whatsoever things are true, whatsoever 
things are honest, whatsoever things are j List, whatso- 
ever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, 
whatsoever things are of good report" — every thing 
virtuous, every thing praiseworthy; every thing saint- 
like, Christ-like, and God-like. 

Who can fail to perceive that these spiritual gifts are 
infinitely superior to any mere natural endowments? 
If we could cover the world with the most magnificent 
and ornamental artificial improvements ever contem- 
plated by the most gorgeous imagination — every pha- 
lanx a palace, and every domain a paradise, which even 
imperial opulence would be too poor to imitate : still, 
without these spiritual and sanctifying benefactions, 
every palace would be a den of crime, and every para- 
dise a vale of tears. But, if we could diffuse these 
redeeming and ennobling virtues over the same extent, 
though the progress of material refinement should be 
no more rapid than at present, and though the angels 
of Providence, in their daily ministrations, in fulfillment 
of the promise, should merely supply the natural need 
of the obedient nations — still, every house would be a 
Bethel, and every garden an Eden, and even the gates 
of the grave would glow like the portals of pearl, which 
open on the city of God. 

And yet, infinitely superior as are these spiritual 
gifts to any other kind of wealth, with which they can 
be compared, on earth, they do not constitute the whole 
of the riches which Christ designed to bestow upon us. 



92 THE RICHES OP HEAVEN. 

When the Queen of Sheba looked upon the state, and 
listened to the wisdom of Solomon, it is said: "there 
was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, 
It was a true report which I heard in mine own land 
of thine acts, and of thy wisdom : howbeit, I believed 
not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen 
it: and behold, the one-half of the greatness of thy wisdom 
was not told me : for thou exceedest the fame that I 
heard." So here, after all that has been said in relation 
to the preciousness of our portion in Christ Jesus the 
Lord, not "the one-half of the greatness" of it has yet 
been told. 

Our heavenly Father knows that we have need of 
more than any of us receive, or are capable of receiving, 
in the life which now is. Therefore, "godliness is 
profitable unto all things, having promise of the life 
which now is, and of that which is to come. This," as 
the Apostle affirms, "is a faithful saying, and worthy of 
all acceptation." Let all who are to die — think of it. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, also, was aware of the extent 
of our want, when, for our sakes, he became poor, that 
we, through his poverty, might be rich. He fully 
understood our future career; and therefore endured 
his deep humiliation with such cheerful patience, that 
he might duly provide for the exigencies of so trans- 
cendent a destiny. 

The agency of the Holy Ghost has the same prospect. 
All its offices are preliminary to eternal conditions. 
Therefore, its continued abode, and ceasless action. 
It distributes the riches of grace on earth, as an earnest 
of the riches of glory in heaven. 

Now, let us return to the Book. Let us complete 
our comprehension of the obj ect of Christ. Let us learn 
the largest sense in which he intends to enrich us. 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 93 

Read Matt, vi: 19, 21: "Lay not up for yourselves 
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, 
and where thieves break through and steal : But lay up 
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth 
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break 
through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there 
will your heart be also." 

Read again, xix: 21: — the promise of the Young 
Ruler — "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou 
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure 
in heaven; and come and follow me." 

Read again, the 28th and 29th verses of the same chap- 
ter — ' ' Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed 
me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit 
in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve 
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every 
one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, 
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for 
my name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and 
shall inherit everlasting life." 

Read again, xxv: 34. — " Then shall the King say to 
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world." These, the righteous, as foretold in the 
46th verse, shall go away into "life eternal" 

Proceed to the Epistles. Read Rom. vi: 22-3. — 
"Now, being made free from sin, and become servants 
to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end 
everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death : but the 
gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord." 

Read again, viii: 16, 17, 18.— "The Spirit itself 
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children 
of God : And if children, then heirs : heirs of G-od, and 



94 THE EICHES OF HEAVEN. 

joint-heirs with Christ : if so be that we suffer with him, 
that we may he also glorified together." More particu- 
larly, in the 23d verse — We, "which, have the first- 
fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within 
ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemp- 
tion of our body." 

Read again, Tit. iii: 5, 6, 7 — where it is declared 
that God sheds the Holy Ghost "on us abundantly, 
through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that, being justified 
by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the 
hope of eternal life" 

Read again, Heb. vi: 11, 12. — "We desire that every 
one of you do show the same diligence to the full as- 
surance of hope unto the end : That ye be not slothful, 
but followers of them who through faith and patience 
inherit the promises." 

Read again, Heb. ix: 15. — "For this cause he" — i. e. 
Christ — "is the Mediator of the new testament, that 
by means of death, for the redemption of the trans- 
gressions that were under the first testament, they which 
are called might receive the promise of eternal inheri- 
tance." 

Read again, 1 Pet. i: 3, 4, 5. — "Blessed be the God 
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according 
to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a 
lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from 
the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 
who are kept by the power of God through faith unto 
salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." 

Read once more, Rev. xxi : 7. — "He that overcometh 
shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he 
shall be my son." 

Such are a few of the passages relating to this great 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 95 

subject. They have been selected, in preference to 
others, chiefly because their terms are expressive of the 
idea of enrichment, by relation, gift, promise, testament, 
and inheritance. They set before us the resurrection, 
judgment, heaven, and eternal life: represent us as 
heirs of God himself; joint-heirs with the Son of God; 
princes in the kingdom of God: and endowed with 
treasures not liable to fraud, violence, corruption de- 
filement, or any evil that could diminish their amount 
or impair their value. 

How shall I treat a subject so grand? 

THE RICHES OF HEAVEN: 

Do we really need such riches ? A German infidel, 
has recently described Christianity as the religion of 
suffering ; and thence inferred, that, as it will no longer 
be wanted, in the condition of general physical pros- 
perity by which the world is about to be enchanted, it 
will be politely bowed out of society, with many thanks 
for its past services — and doubtless, we may add, with 
great rejoicing to be freed from its holy restraints. 

Before this is attempted, however, it will be well to 
be made perfectly sure of the cause of suffering ; per- 
fectly sure that this cause can be removed; perfectly 
sure that suffering itself will be actually and speedily 
banished ; and perfectly sure, therefore, that the religion 
of suffering can at last be spared. 

What then ? Has infidelity ascertained the cause of 
suffering? Can it remove this cause? And will it? 

Is it true, that poverty is about to disappear from 
society ? Is it true, that the time has arrived for the 
fulfillment of the poetic prediction — 

"Prone to the dust Oppression shall be hurl'd, 
Her name, her nature, withered from the world?" 



96 THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 

Is it true, that Violence, Accident,, and Disease, the three 
great agents of Death, are about to resign their awful 
functions ? Is it true, that Death himself is about to 
quit the empire over which he has ruled so ruthlessly 
and so long ? Is it true, that the vaults of the Grave 
are about to be garnished and illumined as chambers 
of peerless pleasure, and saloons of immortal pride? 
Is it true, that all sighs are about to be hushed forever? 
that all tears are about to be wiped away forever ? and 
that all griefs are about to be assuaged forever ? Is it 
true, that the earth and its inhabitants are just about 
to disclose perfection, and then maintain it forever? 
and this, too, without the love, or blood, or breath, of 
Father, Son, or Holy Ghost ? in disdain, and derision, 
and exclusion of all? 

Alas ! if such were the prospect, who could think of 
the retrospect without sorrow and weeping ? For infi- 
delity has no resurrection! TKough it deem itself 
strong enough to exile God from his dominions ; and 
to perfect man, in despite of sin, and perfect the world, 
notwithstanding the curse — it claims no power to raise 
the dead ! "Where, then, are the beautiful, and brave, 
and noble, of the ages gone by? "Where are the 
glorious geniuses, who have been revered as the gods 
and goddesses of art, and science, and philosophy, and 
literature, and government? Where are the cherished 
ones of our own homes, and hearts, and fadeless memo- 
ries ? Tell me — ye sacred shades ! Te dear, departed ! 
tell me ! Ah, vain apostrophe ! unmeaning eloquence 
of thoughtless woe ! They cannot tell me ! They are 
all dumb — dumb, even to fancy's ear — and dumb for- 
ever ! Ah, me ! why lived they not to see this roseate 
dawn? — to mark the clearness of this morning star? — 
to hail the glory of this rising sun? — and share the 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 9T 

triumphs of this perfect day? Alas! the dust that 
gathers on my sandals, may blend the only relics of the 
lost : and every footstep leave its print in the hopeless 
ashes of some whose name and fame are still the 
common idolatry ! But infidelity has no regret for the 
dead ; and no sympathy with mourners. Epicurean in 
private, and stoical in public, its chief changes, like 
those of an Eastern tyrant, are from the harem of lust 
to a throne of skulls. 

But, turning again to the future, and to the infidel's 
vision of its multiplying improvements, I again de- 
mand — -Is it true, that all mankind are about to enjoy 
such wonderful physical prosperity, that there will no 
longer be need of a religion on earth, or of a God and 
a home in heaven ? "What does the infidel mean, when 
he speaks thus ? He confesses he cannot raise the dead. 
What then ? Does he think he can prevent death ? — 
and prevent the suffering which leads to death ? Does 
he sincerely anticipate a succession of generations, all 
blooming with imperishable health ? If so, he is beyond 
the reach of argument; and ought to be kindly con- 
ducted to one of those retreats where insane enthusiasts 
are blest with careful and gentle oversight. But, if he 
has no such thought, and no such anticipation, then 
where is the reason for his prediction ? Let the future 
bring as many improvements as it may, and make the 
possession of them as equal as it may: still, if death 
remain, how can Christianity be spared? As our 
Saviour inquired, in relation to the soul, so we may 
ask in relation to life — What shall it profit a man, if 
he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own life? 
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life ? If 
a man gain the whole world, and oiler it in exchange 
for his life, and yet fail to effect the exchange — is it 



98 THE II ICHES OF HEAVEN. 

not plain that he needs something more than the whole 
world? — needs something which will save his life? 
And where can this something be found, except in 
Christianity ? And how, therefore, can men afford, in 
any condition of society, to bow it out of their presence ? 

Here, then, is the development of our greatest want. 
Christ promised us all we need, in this world, in con- 
nexion with both our natural and spiritual interests. 
But this was not enough. Our whole want compre- 
hends the other world, as well as this world ; eternity, 
as well as time ; heaven, as well as earth ; — and, there- 
fore, in addition to all earthly blessings, we have the 
promise of the riches of heaven. 

The riches of heaven! Yes, indeed, we do really 
need them. "Alas, poor Heines!" — said the infidel's 
translator, as well as I remember his words — "he was 
sore sick the last summer, and went to the Pyrenees 
for his health." But, let him go where he will, he 
cannot long elude the destroyer. His friends will soon 
say — Alas, poor Heines! he is dead! He, too, needs 
the riches of heaven. May God, for Christ's sake, 
grant that he may yet find them. 

Come, then, and gather around me, and gather your 
friends around me, all ye who believe that the Re- 
deemer descended from heaven to exalt us to heaven ; 
all ye who feel your need of the riches of heaven ; all 
ye who are encompassed by the defects, and frailties, 
and infirmities of mortality, and long to put on im- 
mortality ! 

Behold! they come: the masses press around me. 
I contemplate their bodily condition. Some are incura- 
bly blind. The splendor of the sky, the colors of the 
landscape, and the graceful varieties of universal motion, 
are as invisible to them, as the heaven of heavens to us. 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 99 

Some are incurably deaf and dumb. The music of 
nature and of art, of speech and of song, is as inaudible 
to them, as the harmony of saints and angels to us. 
Some are halt; some, maimed ; some, deformed ; some, 
deranged; some, idiotic; some, diseased; some, even 
now, manifestly dying. Even the fairest and strongest 
are consciously and sadly imperfect. The smoothest and 
amplest brow among them all is sealed, like the rest, 
with the sentence: " Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt 
thou return.''' 

What now? How shall I address them? Thank 
God ! the religion of suffering has not yet been bowed 
out of society. I remember Paul's ascription of praise, 
and the occasion of it. "Blessed be God, even the 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, 
and the Grod of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our 
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which 
are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our- 
selves are comforted of God." Our God is the God of 
all comfort: the Father is a comforter; the Son is a 
comforter; the Holy Ghost is a comforter; the Bible 
is a comforter; the Church is a comforter; and its 
ministers are comforters. Even I, am a comforter. 

Here, then, "I magnify my office." I know that 
suffering abounds ; but I know, also, that comfort much 
more abounds. Here, then, I begin to apply it. "Any 
trouble" — "comfort them which are in any trouble" — ■ 
in any bodily trouble. 

Ho! then, ye subjects of physical affliction! throw 
open your souls to the passing anthems of Christianity — 
to the sound of the silver trumpets of the trooping 
angels of the resurrection ! God gave us bodies, that 
we might commune with himself, and sympathize with 
each other, in the full enjoyment of the material uni- 



100 THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 

verse. What then? Has sin despoiled us? Christ 
recovers the spoils. True, ye must die : hut in this is 
the charm and the rapture. Christ has changed the 
curse into a "blessing. "Precious in the sight of the 
Lord, is the death of his saints." For you, "to live is 
Christ, and to die is gain." Who would live as he is 
forever ? That, indeed, were an intolerable curse. No 
form of suicide would be left unattempted, by him who 
should be subject to such a doom. No death, no resur- 
rection ! No resurrection, no perfection ! No perfection, 
no full enjoyment of the universe, no complete sympa- 
thy with each other, no undisturbed communion with 
our Maker! Then, all hail! the chantings and the 
trumpetings of the angels of the resurrection ! As they 
fly round the world, let the heart' s-ease blossom on 
every tomb ; and the morning-glory unfold upon the 
door-posts of every sepulchre ! Though death and the 
grave still lie at the gate of immortality, as if to prevent 
entrance, the weary Pilgrim of the cross, when the 
shades and the dews of the night-fall come on, bears 
his burden into the very presence of the monsters ; lays 
it on the ground between them, stretches himself on it 
as on a pallet and pillow of down, rests his left hand 
on the serpent's head, twists the fingers of his right 
hand in the lion's beard, and sing3, ere his eye-lids close 
in sleep — "0 death! where is thy sting? grave! 
where is thy victory? Thanks be unto God, which 
giveth" us "the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ !" 
And then he dreams of heaven — until the morning 
dawns, and the gate opens, and the porter touches him, 
and he awakes in the likeness of God, and is satisfied ! 

But the resurrection is only the beginning of comfort. 
Again, I look upon the masses gathered around me. 
I contemplate their social condition. Nearly all of them 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 101 

have been distressed by the injustice and cruelty of 
false public opinions and usages. The world does not 
know them : does not apprehend their true character 
and relations. It contemns them; despises them; 
slanders them; abuses them. They encourage one 
another by saying: "Behold, what manner of love the 
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called 
the sons of God ! ' ' And then they explain their position 
by adding: "Therefore, the world knoweth us not; 
because it knew him not." God himself "was in the 
world, and the world was made by him, and the 
world knew him not. He came unto his own, and 
his own received him not." Instead of acknowledg- 
ing him as the Maker and Ruler of all things ; they 
cried — " Away with him ! Crucify him!" And they 
did crucify him! ~No wonder, therefore, the world 
does not know his children. And yet it sometimes 
seems hard for his children to bear all that comes 
upon them. Seeing that the world rewards men for 
wickedness, and praises them for serving Satan; it 
appears too bad to be borne, that they themselves 
should be persecuted for righteousness' sake, and reviled 
for loving the name of Jesus. They forget, for the 
moment, that it is their duty and privilege to "rejoice 
and be exceeding glad; for great is" their "reward in 
heaven." 

Oh, how many such, in all lands and ages, have 
pined and perished under the load of obloquy and 
shame ! Misunderstood and misrepresented ; traduced, 
vilified, and outcast ; hunted, seized, imprisoned, tried, 
condemned, scourged, maimed, exiled, executed, quar- 
tered, exposed in parts over bloody city gates, burned 
to ashes, thrown upon the winds, flung upon the waters ; 
recorded as heretics, traitors, criminals ; and consigned 



102 THE RICHES OE HEAVEN. 

to the abhorence of posterity, as wretches, accursed of 
God as well as of men. 

And is there no remedy ? Ho ! ye victims of social 
wrong ! The blast of the trumpets of the angels of the 
judgment will speedily follow the winding music of 
the angels of the resurrection : a blast so terrible to the 
wicked that they will call on "mountains and rocks to 
fall upon them, and hide them from the face of him 
that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the 
Lamb !" — but, to you, a high, and holy, and heavenly har- 
mony, inspiring you rather with a triumphant ambition 
to shout from the tops of the mountains and clap your 
hands for joy! Then the Grand Court of Appeal will 
be opened. Then the truth shall be ascertained. And 
then your honor shall be vindicated. For God "hath 
appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world 
in righteousness j by that man whom he hath ordained : 
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that 
he hath raised him from the dead." And sweeter than 
the song of the morning stars over the birth of the 
world ; and sweeter than the song of the seraphim and 
cherubim over the birth of the Saviour of the world; 
and sweeter than all the bugles of salvation, summoning 
his elect to take their stations, in shining garments, 
and in the sight of the assembled universe, on the right 
of his throne ; and sweeter even than his own sweet 
voice, then touched with sorrow, when he said to his 
disciples, in the night of his agony — "In the world ye 
shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer: I have 
overcome the world:" ay, sweeter than the sweetest of 
all previous salutations, will be that long-looked for 
welcome, from the lips of the "King" — "Come! ye 
blessed of my Father ! inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world!" 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 108 

But the judgment is only a second comfort, added to 
that of the resurrection. Again I look upon the masses 
gathered around me. I contemplate their spiritual 
condition. They are assured of the immortality of 
their souls. They think and feel ; and have no doubt 
that they will continue to think and feel forever. Their 
capacities for knowledge, and love, and enterprise, and 
enjoyment, appear to be boundless ; and they long to 
have their god-like nature fully developed and eternally 
glorified. They know something of creation; some- 
thing of providence; something of redemption; and 
something of the God of all : but they wish to know 
more and more, forevermore. They wish to have more 
intimate and intelligent communion with the Father 
of spirits — with his works and ways — his government 
of the material universe, and of the moral universe — ■ 
the manifestations of his infinite perfections, in infinite 
space, through infinite duration. Here, there conscious 
powers are closely confined. Some are restrained by 
toil ; some, by poverty ; some, by infirmity ; some, by 
surrounding ignorance and the want of accessible facili- 
ties. They are not well acquainted even with their own 
world, and their own race. If they would travel; if 
they would visit all countries, and all nations ; home-ties 
are hard to break, and expense hinders, and danger 
threatens, and life is short, and death draws near. And 
so, they wait, and pray, and hope for something better 
after death. 

And what now? Shall they wait, and pray, and 
hope — and at last die in vain 2 Hearken ! oh, hearken ! 
ye beautiful spirits! ye glorious spirits! ye god-like 
spirits ! — now so darkly obscured, yet panting for your 
god-like destiny ! Think you that the immense colonial 
empire of the universe has no central home-dominion ? 



104 THE RICHES OP HEAVEN. 

Think you that home-dominion is not the paradise of 
the empire ? Think you that paradise has no metropolis ? 
Think you that metropolis has no palace ? Think you 
that palace has no throne ? And think you that throne 
has no king? 

Behold! — u the King in his beauty, and the land of 
far distances /" Methinks I see the vast circumference, 
adorned with fadeless bowers of bloom and fragrance ; 
shaded and fruitful with the groves and forests of the 
trees of life ; and glittering, in and out, and round and 
round, and all over, with the countless streams of the 
waters of life! Methinks I see the gradually rising 
and all-commanding plateau in the midst, shining on 
every slope, and on all its ample summit, with long- 
drawn streets of purest gold, and magnificent mansions, 
with neither roofs nor walls — broad platforms of pearl, 
and sapphire, and emerald, with colonades of ruby, and 
jasper, and diamond; all glowing with the radiance of 
the royal palace, and throne, and presence, above them; 
blending their brilliant colors one with another; and 
spreading them far and wide on all the descent and 
over all the plain — the imperishable homes of the saints 
of all ages and the angels of all orders ; the undefended 
homes of the holy and happy sphere where society 
knows neither force nor fraud, and nature knows 
neither night nor storm ; homes of perfect bliss, eter- 
nally open to the glory of God and to the vision and 
harmony of creation ! 

Think you that royal presence is without poetry and 
music ? What else could utter the praise ? "What else 
could tell the joy ? Gabriel and Michael — are they not 
there ? David and Isaiah — are they not there ? And 
all their bands — the sons of light and the tribes of the 
redeemed — are they not there ? And their souls, and 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 105 

voices, and harps, and trumpets — -are they not forever 
flashing, and singing, and ringing, and swelling, with 
the divine inspirations of love, and wisdom, and ecstacy, 
and thanksgiving ? 

Methinks I hear them — first, an angel melody : next, 
a saintly melody : and now, their mingled melodies ! 
How sweetly Gabriel and Michael begin the strain! 
How sweetly David and Isaiah respond ! How sweetly 
the four unite their voices ! "What searching, melting 
melodies : serenely sharp and shrill ! In the progress 
of their song, they celebrate the blessed condition of 
the saints. There is heaven — -and there are the riches 
of heaven ! There are the treasures which they sent 
before them : safely laid up where neither moth nor rust 
doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor 
steal! There is the inheritance which was reserved for 
them : incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away I There is the kingdom which ivas prepared for 
them, from the foundation of the world! There they 
enjoy eternal life! There they see themselves, indeed, 
joint-heirs with Christ! There they feel themselves, 
indeed, the heirs of Gf-od ! There, with Christ, in God, 
they inherit all things I There they commune with the 
nature of the Godhead ; comprehend the manifestations 
of his attributes in his works and ways ; and have their 
constantly expanding capacities completely filled with 
the perfections of absolute and unchangeable felicity ! 
And now, the comforting melody closed, how sublimely 
the harmony of the mighty chorus breaks forth! — 
Thousands upon thousands, and millions upon millions, 
like the roaring of seas and the sounding of thunders, 
rising higher and higher, waxing louder and louder, 
floating farther and farther, even from world to world, 
and from system to system, until, from every thrilling 



106 THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 

star, and from every trembling sun, the grand reverbe- 
ration collects about the throne the homage of the 
universe ! 

But even the prospect of heaven, for our own enjoy- 
ment, is not the last comfort. Once more, I look upon 
the masses around me. I contemplate their relative 
condition. They are bound to each other by ties of 
unspeakable tenderness, and yet of unspeakable 
strength. They are husbands and wives ; fathers, and 
mothers, and children; brothers and sisters; friends 
and associates. Many of them stand in the midway 
of life. Some of their loved ones have gone before 
them ; others are coming after them. They need con- 
solation, in connexion with both classes. It seems to 
them that heaven would be no heaven without their 
relations : that all its riches would be utter poverty, in the 
absence of their friends. It might not prove so : but 
they are sure it would. They feel as though, if they 
were in heaven, and should fail to find their cherished 
ones, they would turn away from all its glories, and 
try to hide themselves in the deepest shade of the 
remotest forest, that there they might mourn their 
desolate doom ! 

We should be on our guard against such feelings. 
They may interfere with our love to God ; and make 
other bereavements necessary. "Blessed are the pure 
in heart:" — but why? — a for they shall see God." 
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
again and receive you unto myself; that where I am" — 
not your friends — " there ye may be also." We should 
always be able to say with the psalmist: "Whom have 
I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon the earth 
I desire besides thee !" 

Still, Jesus loved his friend ; and wept at his tomb : 



THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 107 

and did not dry his tears until, by divine power, he 
had constrained the grave to restore him. 

That young mother weeps, though her babe that died 
was only a few months old; and other months have 
gone by since the little one was laid away in its rest. 
She thinks of its sprightly form, its curling hair, and 
sparkling eyes, and rosy lips, and fragrant breath : and 
how sweet it looked in the coffin, with its closed eye- 
lids, and pale face, and waxen hands, folded on its 
snowy vesture, and pressing the green sprig and white 
flower: and she can scarcely restrain the cry — " Oh, 
give my infant back!" And if, in this gentlest form 
of losing the loved and lovely, there be such a keen 
and abiding grief, how shall I speak of those, who, 
after the choicest plants of affection had struck their 
roots deep into their hearts, lengthening and strength- 
ening their filaments, in all directions, through and 
through them, year after year, have then had them 
wrenched and torn from them, leaving them bleeding 
and helpless, with many a wound which hardly a life- 
time could heal. Ah ! ye who have lamented the death 
of children grown up to youth's beauty and promise : 
or of a wife, or of a husband, whose presence was the 
sunshine of your home : or of a father, or of a mother, 
whose smiles, and kindnesses, and prayers, made all 
your time a blessing : I wonder not that your spirits 
are ever inquiring: "When shall we meet again?" 
Would you wish to live forever, if they should not live 
also? Painful as was the separation here, you had 
reason to expect it. You knew that, in some way, it 
must come. It has come. And now, you long for 
reunion — immortal reunion ! 

Come ! ye angels of the resurrection ! come, and 
comfort them! Come! ye angels of the judgment! 



108 THE RICHES OF HEAVEN. 

come, and comfort them ! Come ! ye sweet singers of 
heaven! come, and comfort them! Show them the 
heart's-ease on the grave, and the morning-glory on 
the sepulchre ! Show them the opening of the gate of 
immortality, in the sunrise of glory, for the admission 
of every pilgrim of the cross ! Show them the gathering 
of the righteous, and their common approval, at the 
right hand of the Judge! Show them the union of 
Abraham and Sarah ; Isaac and Rebekah ; Jacob and 
Rachel ; and their children, and children's children, in 
the paradise and city of God ! Show them the thronged 
mansions, and the rejoicing groves, full of friendly con- 
verse and olden memories! Show them their own 
kindred there ! See ! If they died in childhood, that is 
enough for them. If they died in adult years, trusting 
in Jesus, that is enough for them. If you, as Christians, 
shall be faithful unto death, that will be enough for you. 
And if those who come after you, imitate your spirit 
and example, that will be enough for them. All shall 
meet, to part no more forever. And so shall it be said 
of you, as of others — " The Lamb which is in the midst 
of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto 
living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away 
all tears from their eyes." 



THE YOUNG RULER. 



"What lack I yet?"— Matt. Ch. xix: 20. 

This question is the best stand-point in the history 
before us. It affords a central and elevated position, 
from which we may command a complete view of the 
whole case. The past, present, and future of the Young 
Ruler's career: his history, condition, and destiny: 
what he had been, what he was, and what he might 
and ought to have become: are topics, all of which 
lie within the comprehension of the inquiry— -" What 
lack I yet?" 

The most thorough treatment of the question would 
require both a negative and a positive answer : showing, 
first, what he did not lack ; and, secondly, what he did 
lack. This method would most perfectly bring into 
review all the circumstances recorded, and enable us to 
deduce from them the entire complement of the prin- 
ciples they embody and the lessons they enjoin. 

But, I cannot take time to pursue this method. Allow 
me, therefore, to state, that the proper negative answer 
includes four points. They are these : 

1. The Young Ruler did not lack the hnotvledge of 
eternal life ; 

2. He did not lack the knowledge of the essential con- 
nexion of Duty and Destiny ; 

3. He did not lack the general outwards observance of 

(109) 



110 THE YOUNG RULER. 

Duty, according to his previous understanding of its char- 
acter and claims ; 

4. He did not lack the opportunity of perfecting his 
knowledge and conduct, by access to the highest possible 
Authority and Example. 

Having thus stated the points involved in a negative 
answer, I proceed to the improvement of the present 
occasion by answering the question positively. In the 
amplification of this answer, the most important parts 
of the subject will come before us. 

Here, then, is the question — What lack I yet? — 
and the positive answer to it is — The Spirit of Christ : 
the Christian Spirit: the Spirit of Sacrifice: the Spirit 
of entire consecration to God and his cause. 

As to the case of the Young Ruler, the defect, with 
him, was certainly reduced to this one point. In his 
interview with Christ, he not only had an opportunity 
of perfecting his knowledge of duty ; but — it was per- 
fected. He was distinctly and impressively informed 
of both the nature and the rewards of duty — especially 
of his oivn duty. Before that, he was partially if not 
wholly excusable : but, afterwards, surely he was inex- 
cusable. It was no longer the want of knowledge, that 
prevented his full salvation. It was the want of will. 
"One thing thou lackest" — said Christ. As though — 
to repeat the substance of his instructions — he had said : 
"If thou hadst that one thing, thy character would be 
faultless, and thy destiny, glorious. It is my spirit. 
It is the spirit of my disciples. It is the spirit without 
which no man can either become or remain my disciple. 
In a word — it is the Spirit of Sacrifice : the Spirit of 
entire consecration to God and his cause! That this 
is thy lack : that thou art destitute of this spirit : nay, 
that thou art selfishly and inveterately opposed to it: 



THE YOUNG RULER. Ill 

that thou wilt not consent to receive and cherish it — 
even at the proffer, and on the injunction of the one 
whom thou hast acknowledged as thy " Good Master," 
and to whom thou hast so anxiously applied for direc- 
tion : all this I will now demonstrate, both to thine own 
consciousness, and to the judgment of all who see thee 
thus kneeling before me. Hark ! Go thy way ! Sell 
all thou hast, and give to the poor, and come, take up 
the cross, and follow me!" "But" — says Matthew — 
"when the young man heard that saying, he went away 
sorroivful; for, he had great possessions." "He was sad 
at that saying" — says Mark — "and went away grieved; 
for, he had great possessions." "He was very sorrow- 
ful" — says Luke — "/or, he was very rich." 

The demonstration was irresistible I And so it is 
ijet — thrice recorded, as a warning to the world forever ! 

What a contrast of scenes it presents ! How natural ! 
How affecting ! How instructive ! 

See the young man ! — running to Christ : kneeling 
at his feet : and lifting heart, voice, vision, in one im- 
passioned prayer ! What cares he for the gaping crowd ? 
"What cares he for a scornful world ? What cares he 
for anything — but Christ, and duty, and eternal life? 
!N"oble youth ! Magnanimous! High-minded! High- 
hearted! He looks a man — every inch, aye, every 
thought, a man ! And what is so sublime as a man — 
a real man — a true man ! Comparatively — it is nothing 
to be rich : nothing to be a ruler : but — to be a man : 
a genuine man : a God-like man : ! that is something ! 
nay, it is everything ! Some declaim loftily of angels 
and archangels, cherubim and seraphim: and, in its 
place, such eloquence is well — full of inspiration and 
elevation. But — the true man has no ambition to be 
else than man. It was not by the angels, that the 



112 THE YOUNG RULER. 

glory of God was revealed: but — by a man! Their 
shadowing images were suitable symbols in the sacred 
seclusion of the Holy of Holies :— but, "the light of the 
knowledge of the glory of God" shines forth to the 
world, "in the face of" the man "Christ Jesus." 
Neither is it by the angels that the sovereignty of the 
world is exercised : but — by a man ! Their ministry 
however exalted, is only a ministry — the thrones are 
not their's! The Throne of Grace, the Throne of 
Judgment, and the Throne of Glory, are all the thrones 
of a man! — even of him "in whom dwelleth all the 
fullness of the Godhead, bodily." Behold, then! — if 
I may so speak with due reverence — Behold these two 
Young Men ! — the Perfect Man, the Model Man, and — 
the man praying to be made like him, that he also may 
be perfect! 0! surely — if it be divine to possess 
perfection, it is only less than divine to desire and seek 
it ! Such is the first scene ! 

But — there is yet another. See the suppliant rising 
from his knees ! See him ! — recreant to duty : declining 
eternal life: and turning his back on Christ! See 
him! — withdrawing from the crowd; silently, slowly, 
drooping his head as he goes ! See him ! — quickening 
his steps, and, as he still farther retires, yet without 
turning, quickening his pace again! Not a woman 
hissed : not a man scoffed : not even a boy hooted as 
he left. The dewy eyes of Jesus sent only their softest 
glance of pity after him. And yet — -the farther he goes, 
the faster he goes : as if his path were haunted ! It is 
haunted ! Shame — with down-cast and blushing coun- 
tenance ! Sorroiv — pale and tearful ! Remorse — haggard 
and wild ! Fear — quick and tremulous ! — and Despair — 
with calm, cold, dim eyes ! — these haunt his path, and 
ever will ! Nor these alone — for some minion of the 



THE YOUNG RULER. 113 

Arch-Deceiver will henceforth hold him in special 
keeping : and, to complete the horror of his forfeiture, 
when Shame, and Sorrow, and Eemorse, and Fear, and 
Despair shall compose their ghastly circle around him, 
this fiend will teach him to boast — like a drunkard: 
and smile — like an idiot : and dance — like a harlequin : 
and chuckle and jabber — like a maniac: until even 
those "calm, cold, dim eyes" shall fail to subdue him. 
And what now ? Is he a man — a true man ? What ! 
a man — and faithless to his duty ? A man — and faith- 
less to his destiny? A man — and faithless to his God? 
No — never ! He is only a ruler : a rich ruler. That's 
all! And a very little thing it is — as heaven, earth, 
and hell, all bear witness : the commiseration of the 
first, the scorn of the second, and the sport of the last. 
He is "sad" — is he? "Grieved"— is he? "Sorrow- 
ful" — is he? And even "very sorrowful" — is he? 
Why? Because he is "very rich" — has "great posses- 
sions." Gf-reat possessions! Are they great ? Great, 
indeed ! A pile of stones : a lot of dirt : a bag of metal ! 
Or, if you prefer poetry to philosophy — a palace ! — a 
domain ! — a treasury, filled with gold, and silver, and 
precious stones! These are great possessions — are 
they? How great? Great as personal perfection? 
great as the office of the ministry ? Great as the bene- 
dictions of the poor ? Great as the blessing of Christ ? 
Great as treasure in heaven? Great as eternal life? 
So he esteems them ! Nay — he esteems them greater ! — 
and refuses to exchange them for all these ! O ! said 
I not well — he is no man ! — he is only a ruler ! — a 
rich ruler ! Nay — he is less than this — far less. Eich ! 
Why, he is the veriest pauper: destitute of the love of 
God, the love of man, and the hope of glory. A ruler ! 
Rather, he is the vilest slave : without self dominion, 

8 



114 THE YOUNG RULER. 

and therefore disqualified for the government of others. 
What ! Has he dwindled in the distance ? Is he out 
of sight ? Alas for him ! He lacks everything : and 
he has gone to prove, hy bitter experience, that, as sure 
as it is divine to possess perfection ; and the next thing 
to divine, to desire and seek it — it is devilish and 
damning to despise it ! 

But, turning from the past to the present : from the 
case in the book to every similar case in the house: 
and so attending to the more immediate and pressing 
interests of this occasion: I now propose the same 
question and return the same answer, as expressive of 
the One Great Want which everywhere meets my 
notice, in the contemplation of modern society. 

Hark ! What lack I yet ? The Spirit of Christ !— 
The Christian Spirit!— The Spirit of Sacrifice !— The 
Spirit of entire consecration to God and his cause ! 

I am persuaded that this subject is not understood: 
that is — not sufficiently understood : and that is — not 
so commonly and thoroughly understood as it ought to 
be. More particularly, 1 am persuaded that the great 
majority of our young men do not fully understand it: 
and, at the same time, that it is a matter of unspeakable 
importance to enable them to understand it. Com- 
mencing with these convictions, I trust that even such 
humble help as shall now be rendered may prove some- 
what welcome. 

The only question that can be discussed, at present, 
is this : 

WHAT SACRIFICES DOES CHRISTIANITY REQUIRE? 

The history, connected with the text, contains a com- 
plete reply. Analysed — its elements may be classified 



THE YOUNG RULER. 115 

and stated thus : Christianity makes one Generic and 
several Specific sacrificial requirements. The Generic 
requirement is this — the sacrifice of selfishness. In 
this application, sacrifice means destruction. Selfish- 
ness must be destroyed. The Specific requirements 
are these — the sacrifice of property, employment, 
society, and life: under each of which specifications 
are included various particulars, which need not now 
be mentioned. In these connexions, sacrifice means 
consecration. Property, employment, society, and life, 
must be entirely consecrated to Christ and his cause. 

According to this statement, the first, chief, and all- 
comprehensive demand of our holy religion, is — the 
sacrifice of selfishness. 

What is selfishness? Selfishness may be defined, 
as — the principle which prompts man to seek the pro- 
motion of his own supposed interest, in disregard of 
the will of God and the welfare of his neighbor. 

It is a natural principle — the essential characteristic, 
the controlling law, of every man in an unregenerate 
condition. It were idle to collect facts, or compose 
arguments here. An appeal to consciousness is in- 
stantly and infallibly decisive. 

It is a false principle — the concentration of all error : 
and, of course, antagonistical to all truth. While under 
this dominion, a man's supposed interest is never his 
real interest: and his devotion to it, however impious 
and unsocial it may be, is chiefly unjust and injurious 
to himself. This remark, also, is trusted to its intrinsic 
evidence. 

In a word, it is a sinful principle — and the very soul 
of sin. As such, it is opposed to the nature of God: 
opposed to the order of creation : opposed to the pro- 
gress of providence: opposed to the plan of redemption: 



116 THE YOUNG RULER. 

opposed to the example of Christ : opposed to the pre- 
cepts of the Bible : opposed to the constitution of the 
Church: opposed to the improvement of the world: 
and opposed to the honor and happiness of its individ- 
ual subject. 

Here, then, is the first requirement. This principle 
must be sacrificed. The requisition is found in such 
terms as these : 

First — the two great commandments. These intro- 
duce the parties which selfishness disregards, viz : God 
and our neighbor: and so declare every man's duty, in 
relation to them, as to demonstrate that the sacrifice of 
selfishness is indispensable to obedience. 

Notice the first commandment: "Thou shalt love 
the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind." 
It is highly important to appreciate the absolute per- 
fection of this law. See ! the human being is consti- 
tuted by the union of three classes of powers — physical, 
intellectual, and moral: and is destined to unending 
existence and action. The commandment is exactly 
adapted to this comprehension. It claims the heart — 
or the moral powers: the mind — or the intellectual 
powers : and the strength — or the physical powers : and, 
together with these, the soul, or life, including both the 
duration and exercise of these powers. The fullness 
of the claim, also, in each of these particulars, must be 
observed. It is — all the heart, and all the soul, and all 
the strength, and all the mind. Moreover, the spirit 
in which the claim is to be met, is a remarkable speci- 
fication. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all 
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind." The whole nature, 
in its whole action, and throughout its whole existence, 



THE YOUNG RUIER. 117 

is claimed as a free, spontaneous love-offering to God. 
Nor even yet is the meaning of the commandment 
exhausted, or its perfection entirely displayed. Its 
individuality must not be overlooked. " Thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God." The application is as personal, 
and the obligation as imperative, to every human being, 
as they could be, if there were none but God and him- 
self in the universe. Our Saviour styles this — "the 
first and great commandment." It is a consequence of 
the original, essential, and perpetual relation of the 
Creator to his intelligent creatures. His sovereignty 
and their felicity unite in its supremacy. And I appeal, 
with confidence, to every hearer, for the truth of the 
assertion, that this law is an eternal exclusion of all 
selfishness. ~No selfish man can thus love God. 

But notice, also, the second commandment. " Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." It is alike impor- 
tant to appreciate the perfection of this law. It em- 
bodies the doctrines of universal brotherhood, and 
mutual rights. These doctrines are derived from the 
common and equal relation of all mankind to the Deity, 
as his offspring. By this legal form and sanction, they 
are made practically efficient. The term neighbor is 
in nowise restricted. It designates, on Christ's own 
authority, a stranger as well as an acquaintance: a 
foreigner as well as a countryman : and an enemy as 
well as a friend. It applies, irrespectively of all circum- 
stances — of color, class, language, religion, or anything 
else — to every member of the human family. And the 
duty prescribed, is — to love him. The same principle 
that sanctifies our devotion to God, must hallow devo- 
tion to our neighbor: not, indeed, the same in degree, 
but, the same in kind — the fervent love of pure hearts. 
The degree of it is determined by another standard. 



118 THE YOUNG RULER. 

And what an admirable standard it is ! " Thou shall; 
love thy neighbor — as thyself." Self-love is our first, 
strongest, and most constant love. Its intensity, activ- 
ity, and perseverance, in prospect of our own advantage : 
its patience, long-suffering, and forbearance, in treat- 
ment of our own faults : its instant resentment of all 
disagreable intrusions and injurious assaults upon our 
own peace and dignity, from others : these, and all its 
familiar distinctions, are matters of uninterrupted con- 
sciousness. This, therefore, is the standard, according 
to which each one of us is bound to love his neighbor. 
So that we need have no fear of loving our neighbor too 
much — unless we exalt him far above ourselves, and 
put him in the place of God. Of this second com- 
mandment, the Saviour declares, that it "is like, unto 
the first." It is like it in goodness, wisdom and 
authority: and is as essential to the harmony and 
prosperity of society, as is the other to personal purity 
and joy. Here, then, I appeal to you all for the truth 
of the assertion, that this law, also, is an eternal exclu- 
sion of selfishness. To love our neighbor at all, is the 
diminution of selfishness : but, to love him as ourselves, 
is its annihilation and oblivion ! 

"On these two commandments" — said Christ — 
"hang all the law and the prophets." They enshrine 
the first principles of duty and hope: and must be 
maintained, in all their holiness and majesty, unim- 
paired, forever. 

But, secondly — the same requisition is found, again, 
in the primary condition of fellowship and Christ. 
See! "If any man will come after me — let him deny 
himself" Here, also, there is necessity for examination 
and reflection. 

The principles of the two commandments just 



THE YOUNG RULER. 119 

noticed — precede redemption. Their origin is as ancient, 
and their range as extensive, as the moral creation. 
Throughout the universe, wherever there is an associa- 
tion of intelligent heings, there exist the relations 
between self, neighbor, and God : with all the obliga- 
tions, derived from them, of mutual, perfect, and eter- 
nal love. 

Fellowship with Christ, however, introduces a new 
relation. It is not universal and eternal: but, local 
and temporal. It is not between the Almighty and all 
moral agents : but, between God and men alone. It is 
not a consequence of natural order : but, of the violation 
of that order; and has, for its object, the restitution of 
order. I mean — the relation of a Mediator! From 
this new relation, spring new obligations. On the part 
of God, with whom it originated, the obligation is, to 
invest the Mediator with plenary authority, and sanc- 
tion its exercise. This he has done: committing to 
Christ all honor, power, and judgment in heaven and 
earth. On the part of man, after due intelligence of 
the arrangement, the obligation is, to acknowledge the 
Mediator, and avail himself, by faithful obedience to 
his instructions, of the advantages of the intervention. 
Millions of our race have happily fulfilled this obligation. 

Eow, just here it is that the primary condition of fel- 
lowship meets every applicant. It is prescribed by the 
Mediator himself. It is unalterable. There is, there 
can be, no appeal from his decision. Hark ! "If any 
man will come after me" — i. e. will secure fellowship 
with me, and enjoy the advantages of my mediation: 
"let him" — i. e. first of all, as an indispensable prelim- 
inary — u deny himself 7" As though he had said — The 
wisdom of the world has allowed selfishness. Its teach- 
ers were selfish themselves : and as ignorant as selfish, . 



120 THE YOUNG RULER. 

They knew not the nature and relations of man. But, 
all truth is known to me. I know — that selfishness 
was the first form of sin, and has since produced all 
other forms. It was selfishness that violated the natu- 
ral order: sundered original relations: trampled on 
original duties : and created the necessity for my medi- 
atorial toils and sufferings. "Where sin began, redemp- 
tion must begin. The root of the evil must be extir- 
pated. Selfishness, itself, must be destroyed. The 
wisdom of the world is foolishness with me. I am not 
of the world. My disciples are not of the world 
There is no selfishness in me. None shall be allowed 
in them. While sun, and moon, and stars endure, 
their very initiation shall be signalized by the solemnity 
of this sacrifice. A single exception is a moral impos- 
sibility. "If any man will come after me, let him deny 
himself!" »' 

The self-denial thus required of every man who 
would become a Christian, has two objects, correspond- 
ing with those of the two original and universal com- 
mandments. That is, it is designed to prepare the way 
for the love of Christ, corresponding with the love of 
God : and the love of every disciple of Christ, corres- 
ponding with the love of our neighbor. Hark! "If 
any man come to me, and hate not his father, and 
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and 
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my 
disciple." That is, as elsewhere explained, if he love 
any or all of these more than Christ, he is not fit to be 
a Christian. What is this but placing the Mediator 
in the stead of God, and requiring men to honor the 
Son, even as they honor the Father ? Surely, the claim 
would be no stronger, if it were made in the terms of 
the first commandment : if, for instance, it read thus— 



THE YOUNG RULER. 121 

"If any man come to me, and love me not with all his 
heart, with all his soul, with all his strength, and with 
all his mind, he cannot be my disciple." Nay, in one 
sense, it would not be so strong : for the first command- 
ment, as already intimated, applies to heaven as well as 
earth, and, of course, to societies in which the relations 
of father and mother , wife and children, brethren and 
sisters do not exist; and in which, as there is no sin, 
there is, also, no death; so that, under such circum- 
stances, such sacrifices as Christ requires are not possi- 
ble. Christ requires every one of his disciples to hold 
himself in readiness, if need be, to sacrifice his dearest 
domestic ties, aye, and even his life. Certainly, selfish- 
ness cannot survive where this law prevails. 

But hark again ! — "A new commandment I give unto 
you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, 
that ye also love one another. By this shall all men 
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to 
another." And again, exhibiting his own example and 
the meaning of the law more plainly — "This is my 
commandment, That ye love one another, as I have 
loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that 
a man lay down his life for his friends." Here is a 
new law added to an old law : a special law added to a 
general law : the law of mutual love among Christians 
added to the law of mutual love among neighbors. 
In this case, as in the one just noticed, the new com- 
mandment is not only as strong as the old, but even 
stronger than the old. It requires us to love one 
another as Christians, not only as ourselves — as neigh- 
bors are bound to do: but, so to speak, better than 
ourselves. It requires us, at least, beyond all cavil, to 
love the Church, as Christ himself loved it — that is, 
even unto death in its behalf. So says St. John, 



122 THE YOUNG RULER. 

alluding in his epistle to the words of Christ in his Gos- 
pel — " Hereby perceive we the love of Christ, because 
he laid down his life for us : and we ought to lay down 
our lives for the brethren." This is the law which 
ought to prevail in every church under heaven — the 
law which, if it did prevail, as it ought to prevail, would 
make the church as much superior to all other institu- 
tions as heaven is higher, and holier, and happier than 
the earth. Nothing can be plainer than that it was 
intended to perfect the work of salvation from all 
selfishness. 

Such, then, is the general requirement of Christian- 
ity. You perceive that its immediate application and 
force are interior: that its nature is strictly spiritual: 
that it assails the evil principle itself: searching its 
secret source, and exhausting the elements of its energy. 
To do this effectually, it adopts, from Judaism, the two 
old, universal, and perpetual commandments, of love to 
God and our neighbor : and then adds to these the two 
new, more select, and more self-sacrificing requirements 
of love to Christ and the Church. The object, however, 
in all these relations, is the same — the destruction of 
selfishness. Like successive shocks of lightning, they 
shiver the deadly tree to its deepest roots : and so bring 
down at once, in thunderous ruin, both splintered trunk 
and scorched and blighted branches ! 

So far, the assurance may be indulged, that I stand 
on undisputed ground. Few, if any, will object to 
this statement of general principles. If a practical 
application of them were now to be made : if I should 
proceed to explain the specific requirements of Christi- 
anity ; as they relate to property, employment, society 
and life: then, perhaps, some difference of opinion 
would become evident. But, as this is not now my 



THE YOUNG RULER. 123 

purpose, I repeat the assurance, that, for the present 
occasion at least, I stand on undisputed ground. I 
challenge no man's house, or lot, or purse : no man's 
family, or friends, or acquaintance : no man's years or 
months, days or nights. In the name of God and of 
our neighbor, in the name of Christ and of the Church, 
in "words of truth and soberness," and in the power 
of the Holy Ghost, I might challenge all : aye, all, at 
once and forever. Christianity does challenge all — ■ 
but, so let it rest. 

I ask, now, only these two things: first — a common 
acknowledgment of the fact that our holy religion 
demands the sacrifice of the principle of selfishness : 
and, secondly — a general confession of failure to meet 
this demand ; or, at least, a failure to meet it fully. 

"What now? Are you ready for this acknowledg- 
ment — all ready? Hark! Christianity requires this 
sacrifice! Do you solemnly avow that this is your 
conviction of the truth ? Methinks you answer — yes : 
such is our solemn avowal! So let it stand before 
God : unchangeable as his throne ! 

Whether, in regard to property, rich or poor: 
whether, in regard to employment, high or low: 
whether, in regard to society, neglected or caressed: 
and whether, in regard to life, in its fullest flush, or 
feeble and infirm, you now realize your oneness of 
constitution, oneness of relation, oneness of duty, and 
oneness of destiny : and, while Christianity makes its 
appeal to your inmost souls, you acknowledge, as with 
one heart and one voice, that selfishness — though a 
natural principle — is utterly false, and awfully sinful: 
that it is idolatrously inconsistent with our relation to 
God, inhumanly inconsistent with our relation to our 
neighbor, unchristianly inconsistent with our relations 



124 THE YOUNG EULER. 

to Christ and the Church, and suicidally inconsistent 
with our own personal interests — on all which accounts, 
it is righteously condemned and must be destroyed. 

It may he, that some of you transcend my wish : that 
you are ready to disparage revelation, by asserting that 
reason makes the same requirement : and to disparage 
Christianity, by maintaining that other religions, and 
philosophy, and law, and even public opinion, all make 
the same requirement. You may be inclined to say, 
that selfishness is so unmanly, so ignoble, so mean, so 
contemptible, that it dishonors Christianity to represent 
this requirement as one of her distinctions — for it is a 
universal requirement. 

I deny the obj ection. Pardon me, if I speak strongly. 
I utterly deny it — deny it, as equally and egregiously 
false and blasphemous. That selfishness is unmanly, 
ignoble, mean, and contemptible — all that, indeed, I 
admit, and have endeavored to make more appa- 
rent and repulsive. JSTo vile vocabulary can half 
express its vileness. But — I deny that reason makes 
the same requirement in regard to it that revelation 
does ! I deny that any other religion, or any philosophy, 
any law, any public opinion, ever made the same 
requirement that Christianity makes ! And I cannot 
forbear the utterance, that he who entertains such an 
objection falls very far short of a just appreciation of 
the principles presented in this discourse. 

No — no: the objector has made a gross, an infinite 
mistake ! In this Christian injunction, there is a 
sublimity, an ecstacy of truth, never even imagined by 
these vaunted compeers. This is their office, and this 
alone — the restraint of selfishness ! False religions may 
restrain selfishness : so may philosophy : so may lawr 
and so may public opinion. Reason may teach the 



THE YOUNG RULER. 125 

propriety, nay, even the necessity of this. But mark ! — ■ 
it is only the restraint of selfishness : and that — -for the 
sake of selfishness. It is an attempt to establish separate 
bounds, within which isolated yet contiguous individ- 
uals may indulge their selfishness to the full, without 
trespassing too far upon their neighbors. And, more- 
over, it is a mere attempt: or, rather, a miserably un- 
successful attempt. On all sides, the bounds are broken. 
Reason is mocked and derided, for the folly of proposing 
such a restraint. Public opinion proves to be nothing 
but a great whispering-gallery : where the curious crowd 
repeat to each other the catch- words of private interest, 
and so promote the very mischief they would fain 
correct. As to the law, he would surely be too visionary 
either for its enactment or administration, who should 
repair to its capitols, palaces, or courts, for many ex- 
amples, of either personal or official success, in restric- 
tion of this evil. And as to philosophy, she might well 
be driven from the world by the jeers of the populace, 
were it not for the retreats in her marble halls, where 
her welcoming students sing their sub-rosa song — they 
may laugh who win ! And as to misnamed religion, 
she builds temples and mansions to the very principle 
she pretends to suppress: and, having first beguiled 
and then plundered her victims, at last joins hands with 
the State to murder or enslave them. 

0! said I not well that the objector has made an 
infinite mistake? Christianity does not require the 
restraint of selfishness. "No : she requires its extirpation ! 
That is her distinction ! In what land has reason, or 
opinion, or law, or philosophy, or false religion, ever 
done that f Christianity denounces it as too abominable 
for mere restraint. Who would think of merely im- 
posing restraints on lying, stealing, adultery, murder, 



126 THE YOUNG RULER. 

and idolatry? Yet these are only forms of selfishness. 
"No, no : though the whole strength of sin is in it, and 
the whole strength of error is in it, and this two-fold 
power is a natural power — having, from the earliest 
inception of our being — 

" Grown with our growth and strengthened with our strength" — 

perverting the understanding, deluding the imagination, 
polluting the affections, degrading the appetites, betray- 
ing the will, and disgracing the life : until it may seem to 
have consummated a condition of demoniac and eternal 
thraldom: still, Christianity commands a revolt, a 
spiritual revolt, a revolt of every faculty that retains 
the slightest remembrance of its divine origin and 
affiliation : a sudden and mighty, but patient and per- 
severing revolt, encouraged by inrushing and omnipo- 
tent auxiliaries from heaven, and ending in the de- 
thronement and expulsion of self, and the triumph and 
coronation of Christ. Then shall it be seen that our 
real interest is identical with the will of God and the 
welfare of our neighbors and brethren: the littleness 
and fretfulness of our solitary estrangement shall be 
forgotten in the grandeur and felicity of our restoration 
to universal sympathy and communion : and heart, soul, 
strength, and mind, shall forever fill and thrill with the 
presence and blessing of infinite love. 

But now let us attend to the confession of failure 
fully to meet this requirement. Are you ready for this 
confession ? — all ready ? Do not forget that I am now 
dealing with the general principle : not with its special 
applications. I do not ask — whether you have sacrificed 
or consecrated property, employment, society, or life, 
as you ought to have done. But, I come to the door 
of every man's heart, and knock upon it, and, as con- 



THE YOUNG RULER. 127 

science opens it, I inquire concerning selfishness itself. 
Have you sacrificed that? Or, rather, are you willing 
to confess that you have not? — at least, according to 
the full extent of the requirement ? 

I do not wonder that so many are reluctant to make 
such a confession. I know myself too well — to wonder 
at this. Selfishness, as we all agree, is so despicable — 
that we are ashamed to have it known that we, our- 
selves, are selfish. But, this very shame is one of the 
strongest proofs of the power of the evil. He who 
makes confession, conquering the shame of it, has 
already commenced the sacrifice of selfishness. And 
surely, if shame be excited at all, it should be occasioned 
rather by the conscious existence of the sin than by the 
voluntary exposure of it. If ashamed at all, let us be 
ashamed of that. Such shame will prompt confession, 
prompt repentance, prompt faith, prompt prayer, and 
so tend to salvation. 

What then ? Let the dark record be unrolled ! Let 
the mean fact come out, before God, and our neighbor, 
and our brother Christian — that we do not love either 
of them as we ought! Let the ungrateful truth be 
spread before our Lord Jesus Christ, that we do not 
love him as we ought ! Let the reason be disclosed — 
that we are yet selfish ! — that, although God is our for- 
giving Father : and Christ, our crucified Redeemer : and 
our neighbor, our natural blood-brother : and our fellow- 
Christian, our supernatural blood-brother : still, we have 
shut our hearts against all : cut ourselves off from their 
glorious companionship, with all its exquisite sympa- 
thies : loved ourselves better than all, and so lived alone, 
in our littleness, insignificancy, and nothingness. Out 
with it ! Though you can but blush : can but weep : 
can but groan : can but throb : can but sink, faint and 



128 THE YOUNG RULER. 

overwhelmed at the exposure — still, out with it ! Con- 
fess it ! For your neighbor's sake, confess it : for your 
brother's sake, confess it: for Christ's sake, confess it: 
for God's sake, confess it! Nay, for your own sake, 
confess it ! By withholding a confession, you may not 
harm others, and yet — you may thus ruin yourselves. 
The Lord help us all to make confession ! 

And what now ? Would you like to begin to lead 
a nobler life ? Would you know how to do it ? And 
have you patience to return to the case of the Young 
Ruler, in order to learn ? See ! 

Before the time alluded to in this history, in all prob- 
ability he had only heard of Jesus: heard of him, 
perhaps, as at Nazareth, or Capernaum, or Bethsaida, 
or Bethany, or Jerusalem : but, at this time, he saiv the 
Holy Pilgrim, hastened into his immediate presence : 
knelt at his feet: prayed for instruction: and was 
graciously answered. Especially was this the case in 
regard to his last inquiry : the apparently triumphant 
challenge — "What lack I yet?" The Lord's reply to 
this inquiry was greatly in advance of any thing the 
Young Ruler had ever imagined, as a moral or religious 
obligation. It was sufficient, if it had been rightly 
received and studied, to make his knowledge perfect. 
It comprehended his whole duty. In a word, it tran- 
scended Judaism — and introduced Christianity. It pro- 
posed, that he should cease to be a Jew — and become 
a Christian. 

"One thing thou lackest" — said Christ — :"if thou 
wilt be perfect, go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, 
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in 
heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me." 

Did Judaism ever teach such a lesson as that? 
Never! Judaism was a religion, the foreground of 



THE YOUNG RULER. 129 

whose pictured rewards was crowded with temporal 
blessings : while those which are eternal were thrown 
into such distant, diminished, and dim perspective, 
that they could scarcely be discerned. Some celebrated 
divines, indeed, have failed to discover any eternal 
sanctions in that dispensation. But Christianity is a 
religion, from the open centre of whose broader canvas, 
the effulgence of heaven so dazzles down upon the 
foreground— that the things of earth are lost in the 
lustre, like meteors in the sunshine. Judaism was the 
religion that garnered the harvest, and gave the glean- 
ing : Christianity is the religion that thrives upon the 
gleaning, and gives the harvest. Judaism was a just 
religion : Christianity is not only just, but, also, gen- 
erous. Judaism was self-indulgent: Christianity is 
self-denying. Judaism was a self-enriching religion: 
Christianity is a self-sacrificing religion. Judaism was 
the religion of a nation : Christianity is the religion of 
the world. Judaism was a transient religion : Christi- 
anity is everlasting. 

But, if this be, indeed, the Christian completion of 
the notion of duty, let us try to understand it. 

1. Look at its character. " Sell whatsoever thou hast. ' ' 
Is this a general duty ? Never mind ! or, rather, our 
concern, just now, is with the Young Ruler. Christ's 
rehearsal of the commandments was imperfect. The 
first table of the law was not cited; and, from the 
second table, one commandment was omitted — while 
another, not found in the Decalogue at all, was added, 
as if for a substitute. The one omitted, was — the pro- 
hibition of covetousness — -"Thou shalt not covet," &c. 
The one substituted was — "Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself." "Was this designed? Certainly. Then, 
what was the design 9 Did Christ know that the Young 



130 THE YOUNG RULER. 

Ruler was covetous ? — that his office had been made to 
minister to this vice? — that his wealth had been 
acquired in this way ? — and that his heart was fully set 
on the world ? Knowing these things, did Christ take 
this course to enable the applicant to declare his inno- 
cence in other respects, and then to make his guilt and 
wretchedness in regard to this one sin the more start- 
ling and impressive? We know not: but — so it 
resulted. The injunction, to sell all he had, looks like 
a prescription to cure covetousness : a copious depletion 
to reduce a high fever. By such counsel, Christ mag- 
nifies his wisdom and grace. The "besetting sin" 
must be specially counteracted. "If the right eye 
offend — pluck it out : if the right hand, or foot, cut it 
off." Such are the figures by which he shows the pro- 
priety of any sacrifice, however great, in order to rescue 
life. It is better to lose one member than the whole 
body. So, morally and spiritually. Covetousness is 
not to be cured, either by increasing or by hoarding 
property. Either course would prove fatal. Sacrifice 
is the only remedy. Does the eye love to look at the 
accumulation ? What of that ! Does the hand love to 
handle it? What of that! Does the foot love to 
measure it ? What of that ! Eternal life is at stake ! 
'Tis an infinite stake. Its loss or gain is just about to 
be determined. Up, and be doing! Haste to the 
sacrifice. If rich as Solomon, sell all thou hast. Kill 
covetousness, or covetousness will kill thee ! Such 
seems the spirit of the lesson. 

But, Christ's plan is — to make every one he saves 
useful to others. See! "Sell whatsoever thou hast, 
and — give to the poor." Sell — for your own benefit: 
give — for the benefit of others. What others? The 
first precept was not qualified. He must sell: but it 



THE YOUNG RULER. 131 

is not said to whom. As he was very rich, however, he 
could only sell to the rich. In such cases, the poor 
cannot buy. They thank God if they can buy bread : 
and never dream of purchasing the Ruler's palace and 
domain. But, the second precept was qualified. Grive — 
but, not to the rich ! They have enough already : nay, 
too much. It might be an injury, instead of a benefit, 
to give to them. Though your nearest and dearest 
kindred, still, if rich already — give not to them. Give 
to the poor. They need thy benefactions. See them ! 
How cheerless their homes! How insufficient their 
clothing ! How scanty their food ! How neglected 
their children ! How dreary the prospect before them 
all ! thou selfish heart ! — forget to covet, and learn 
to pity. And thou, selfish hand! forget to grasp, 
and learn to give. Pity and give to these— the poor. 
Repair their homes. Shut out the frost and rain. Let 
in the light. Make the hearth blaze. Make the table 
smoke. Find them work for the week. Hang up 
Sabbath suits in their closets. Place the Bible on the 
shelf. Put shoes on the feet, mittens on the hands, 
and comforts on the necks of their little ones ; muffle 
them up warmly, and send them to the house of 
instruction — that they may learn the fear of the Lord, 
which is the beginning of wisdom, and get that good 
understanding which will enable them to keep his 
commandments. Especially, if any are sick — give to 
them. Send the doctor — find a nurse. Tell the butcher 
to stop at the door : and the baker : and the milk-man : 
and let the grocer send round his boy and basket. 
More especially, if any are strangers — assure them that 
at least two friends are near: one, all the time; and 
the other, often : God and yourself. So you may ren- 
der them spiritual as well as natural service. And, if 



132 THE YOUNG RULER. 

they thank the servant, will they not bless the Master 
who sent him ? If they love the Christian, will they 
not love Christ more ? 

But this notion of duty is not yet complete. Hark ! 
Go thy way : sell all thou hast : give to the poor : and — 
come I See that ! Not only go : but, return. Not only 
go, sell, and give : but, return to do still more. That 
is only the sacrifice of property. Thou hast yet to 
sacrifice life. " Come, take up the cross." "All that a 
man hath will he give for his life." But here is one 
who is required, not only to give all he hath, but — -to 
throw his life into the bargain. It may seem enough 
to make thyself poor : but, it is not enough. Even thy 
social duty is not yet complete : for thou art bound to 
spiritual benefactions as well as natural. Moreover, 
thy duty to God is yet untold. To him thou owest thy 
life : and thus he claims it. " Come, take up the cross." 
True : thou art young ; and it may seem hard to yield 
thy life I True : thou art a ruler ; and so it may seem 
the harder to carry a cross, like a slave ; and to die on 
it like a criminal! Nevertheless, it must be done. 
The demand cannot be abated. Great as it is, heaven 
and earth shall pass away before one jot or tittle shall 
be taken from its terms. It is serenely made : but, like 
the Throne of Omnipotence, it is as immutable as it is 
serene. "Come, take up the cross!" Hereafter, thou 
shalt feel, that thy life, like thy property, is no longer 
thine own. Thou art to hold it, use it, lay it down, 
take it up, where, when, and as God shall require. 
Instead of watching the daily sun, until its glory shall 
pale on thine age-dimmed vision, like the morning 
moon: and thy hair shall be white as the hoar-frost: 
and thy shrunken form shall be like the stripped tree 
in autumn : and thy dry and wrinkled skin shall be , 



THE YOUNG RULER. 133 

like the shriveled foliage, which no shower can revive, 
and no sunshine relume : instead of this — before the 
blossom of this noon-tide shall close its chilled leaves 
in the twilight, or the homeward shepherd shall crush 
it unseen in his shadowy path, thou mayest meet thy 
last challenge, and be compelled to obey it ! Instead 
of reclining on the softest couch in the tapestried 
chamber of thine ancestral home; instead of the con- 
stant presence of sleepless love ; and the hushed step 
and gentle hand of ministering kindness; and the 
soothing voice of frequent friendship ; and the window- 
glimpse of the old cedars that cast their shade all day, 
and drop their dews all night, on the honored tombs 
of many generations of thy kindred : instead of this, 
or anything like this — thou mayst be nailed fast to the 
post and beam: lifted, streaming with blood, in the 
uncurtained and pitiless air : and left, suspended — love 
absent, friendship absent, kindness absent: and none 
present but thy cruel executioners, with a malignant 
mob to cheer them, and curse thee ; and no prospect, 
even for the repose of thy wounded and exhausted 
body, better than that afforded by the unburied and 
dishonored bones of former victims, scattered all over 
the place of skulls. "Come" — then — and "take up 
the cross!" 

But, even yet, this notion of duty is not complete. 
It embraces one more point — a vital point — without 
which all that has gone before would be sheer fanaticism. 
This sanctions all, as infinitely rational. "Go thy 
way — sell all thou hast — give to the poor — come — take 
up the cross — and.— follow me!" Hear that I — Follow 
Me! Here, at least, is the disclosure of a spirit 
sublimely brave. If this Divine Man — this TJn vanishing 
Apparition of One who seems as much God as Man — 



134 THE YOUNG RULEE. 

if he claim more than Moses claimed: if he condemn 
the righteousness of the law as unworthy his own more 
glorious system : and if he challenge the property of 
the rich for the poor, and the persons of the nohle for 
the cross : it must be admitted, at the same time, that 
he honorably sustains his requisitions by his own ex 
ample. He asks none to lead: but, commands all to 
follow. He is himself always in the van. The greater 
the danger, the more sure he is to meet it in person. 
The keener the distress, the more ready he is to endure 
it himself. As u the Captain of our salvation," he 
rejoices to be "made perfect through sufferings." 

Follow me ! Thou art styled rich, and very rich : but 
I was infinitely richer! Nevertheless, though I was 
rich : so rich, that, as I reclined my head on the bosom 
of my Father, and surveyed the circling universe, 
shining below and around us, I could look up in his 
smiling face and say — "All that the Father hath is 
mine" — still, " for your sakes," I became poor : so poor 
that I seem to have been estranged from my Father, 
disinherited of the universe, and exiled to this world of 
sin — while, even here, though "the foxes have holes 
and the birds of the air have nests," I — in appearance 
the Son of man, but in reality the Son of God, "have 
not where to lay my head." All this have I done that 
ye, through my poverty, might become "rich" indeed. 

Follow me! Thou art styled a "Euler:" but I was 
infinitely more exalted — King of kings, and Lord of 
lords. And yet, though enshrined, adored, and wor- 
shipped, "being in the form of God " and thinking it 
"not robbery to be equal with God," I made myself 
"of no reputation," and took upon me "the form of a 
servant," and "was made in the likeness of men," and, 
being thus "found in fashion as a man," I now humble 



THE YOUNG RULER. 135 

myself, waiting to become " obedient unto death, even 
the death of the cross." Though it was by me that 
"all things" were "created, that are in heaven, and 
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be 
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:" 
though the gates of the Eternal City are full of my 
praise, and the palaces of saints and angels repose 
in perpetual splendor within the luminous shadow of 
my throne : though the cherubim and seraphim of the 
heaven of heavens never linger for my example, but 
stretch their pinions, and stand alert, at the first breath 
of my bidding — happy enough to outfly the lightning, 
and honored enough to outshine the sunbeams, as the 
agents of my will, and the heralds of my decrees: — 
still, as though I had no claim to the slightest attention, 
I came hither, "not to be ministered unto, but to 
minister, and to give my life a ransom for many." 
I chose an obscure maiden for my mother : and a hard- 
working carpenter for my protector. The stall was 
my elect birth-place: and the manger my welcome 
cradle. With twelve legions of angels, ready to leap 
from their starry thrones to kneel at my feet — I have 
preferred the attendance of these twelve fishermen and 
publicans. Who is so humble, that I am not humbler? 
Who is so poor, that I am not poorer? Who is so 
afflicted, that I suffer not more ? 

Follow me ! Thon may est not die on the cross — bear 
it never so long. With thee, it is only a risk. True : 
it should be a noble and cheerful risk. Thy life should 
be as saintly as though sure thus to end. But, thou 
mayest expire — gently expire on a bed of down. Thine 
eyes may be closed by the fingers of love. Thy form 
may be laid by the side of thy fathers. Not so with 
me ! My doom is fixed. I was born with the mark of 



136 THE YOUNG RULER. 

the cross on my shoulder. The cross itself was soorj 
laid on my shoulder. I learned to walk, with the 
cross on my shoulder. I learned to talk, with the cross 
on my shoulder. I learned to work, with the cross on 
my shoulder. I howed to baptism, with the cross on 
my shoulder. I endured the temptation, with the cross 
on my shoulder. I began my ministry, with the cross 
on my shoulder. From my earliest moment, it has 
been my burden all day, and my pallet all night. It 
went with me, from Bethlehem to Egypt ; and returned 
with me, from Egypt to Nazareth. I have climbed 
Olivet, oppressed by its weight: and paced Jerusalem, 
dishonored by its shame. It has been ever with me. 
I bear it now. And I anticipate the issue. It is just 
before me. Caiaphas condemns me. Herod mocks 
me. Pilate surrenders me. The soldiers crucify me. 
The priests and people deride me. Even the sun, with- 
draws its light from me. The Father, himself, forsakes 
me! "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
death." But — notwithstanding all this : though of the 
people, aye, even of my disciples, none can be with me : 
though it must needs be, that I tread the wine-press 
of the wrath of the Almighty alone : I came to do it, 
and am ready to do it. To some extent, at least, 
cherish my spirit, imitate my example — -follow me ! 

But — the rewards of duty, so understood, must not 
be forgotten. Christ, himself, expected reward. It 
was, to "bring many sons to glory" that he was "made 
perfect through sufferings." It was "for the joy set 
before him" that he "endured the cross, despising the 
shame." So with his disciples. So, in the case before 
as. He assures the Young Ruler of abundant rewards, 
on the fulfillment of his duty. "With a few words, here, 
I close* 



THE YOUNG RULER. 137 

See ! The first reward is — personal perfection. How- 
ever good a Jew ; as such, he was imperfect. "For the 
law made nothing perfect: but the bringing in of a 
better hope did." " One thing thou lackest!" Thou 
art not yet a Christian. Thy religion is of works : it 
should be of grace. It is merely formal : it ought to 
be spiritual. "If thou wilt he perfect — see that! there 
it is — personal perfection : — " If thou wilt he perfect," — 
do as I command thee. It is the same as saying : Obey 
me, and thou shalt be perfect ! 'No wonder this reward 
is stated first. It is first in importance, as well as in 
order. It ought to be first in hope : for it must be first 
in inheritance. 

Why did Jesus love this young man? Because he 
was rich ? Not at all ! Because he was a ruler ? Not 
at all ! But — because he was comparatively innocent, 
and anxious for a perfect and immortal life. In a word, 
it was because of his personal, and not his social, or 
civil distinctions. Character ! — not wealth. Charac- 
ter I — not rank. Character I — not even reputation. 
Character! — the inmost and essential character! — -this 
is what God esteems. Adam's loss of character was 
infinitely greater than his loss of Paradise. Christ's 
restoration of character is infinitely more glorious than 
the restoration of Paradise. ! to be perfect ! To know 
our duty perfectly, and to perform it perfectly ! To be 
"created anew" — "in the image of God" — "in know- 
ledge and true holiness!" To be presented perfect, in 
Christ Jesus, before the Father and his angels ! Can 
man imagine, or God promise, more than this ? Moral 
perfection here : mental and physical, hereafter ! Perfec- 
tion, once attained — secured forever! "Who could 
desire more ? 01 let my last particle of property be 
taken: let the cross be laid heavily on my shoulder; 



138 THE YOUNG RULER. 

let me live under it, and die on it — if, only, I may 
supply my lack, and become perfect. 

But, after all, this was not all. Condition, as well as 
character, was to be perfected by the change. Hark! 
" Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to 
the poor, and" — here is the point! — u thou shalt have 
treasure in heaven!" And what is the advantage of 
"treasure in heaven" over treasure on earth? It is 
safer. It is better. It is more abundant. It is more 
enduring. St. Paul could not declare it — nor all the 
saints with him. Gabriel could not describe it — nor 
all the angels with him. Mortal and immortal elo- 
quence, both combined, would fail to make it known. 
What treasure is it? It is all Christ's treasure. It is 
all Grod's treasure. For the statement is — that we are 
"heirs of Gfod, and joint-heirs with Christ." And how 
is it to be reached? u Come, take up the cross, and follow 
me!" Is it a strange way? But — it is the right way I 
This is the way that Christ himself pursued — and now, 
he has recovered all. See! The "Father of glory" 
has set him at his own right hand in the heavenly 
places" — above — aye — u far above all principality, and 
power, and might, and dominion, and every name that 
is named, not only in this world, but also in that which 
is to come !" Again, he reclines on his Father's bosom : 
again, he looks up, from the rolling worlds, to the 
smiling countenance bent toward him, and repeats, as 
of old, "All that the Father hath is mine!" And, 
methinks, I hear him add, in almost mournful reminis- 
cence — "If that Young Ruler had followed me, he 
might have exchanged his ancestral hovel for these 
magnificent and imperishable man sions of the 'morning 
stars' and the 'sons of God:' exchanged his narrow 
domain for the immensity and splendor of this sinless 



THE YOUNG RULER. 139 

and deathless 'land of far distances:' and exchanged 
the haunting horrors of shame, and sorrow, and remorse, 
and fear, and despair, for the beautiful and blissful 
groups of these cherubim of wisdom, these seraphim 
of love, these saints of memory, and all the eternal 
fullness of his Saviour and his God !" 



CHARACTER AID DESTINY OF THE JUST. 



" The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more 
unto the perfect day." — Prov. Ch. iv: 18. 

There are three methods of using natural facts as 
moral illustrations. The first, both constitutionally and 
historically, is the poetic : which employs facts according 
to their impressions on the senses. The second, both 
constitutionally and historically, is the scientific : which 
employs facts according to their best ascertained laws, 
without respect to sensible impressions. The third is 
a recent one; and is distinctive of the highest con- 
stitutional development and accomplishment. It may 
be styled the composite — as it unites the poetic and 
scientific: applying facts in accordance both with the 
laws which govern them, and the manifestations which 
accompany them. 

The method generally adopted in the Bible, is the 
poetic. The wisdom of this is obvious. The scientific 
method would have required a scientific revelation : and 
the time for this had not yet come. The founders of 
false religions, perhaps attempting to improve upon the 
oldest and only true religion, hastily seized upon the 
erroneous hypotheses which were accepted as scientific 
in their several generations, and embodied them in 
their sacred records : so exposing all their pretensions 
to inevitable ultimate rejection and infamy. The Bible, 
(HO) 



DESTINY OF THE JUST. 141 

on the contrary — and it is believed to be the only 
religious authority in the world of which the remark 
can be made — avoids this difficulty entirely. "Whatever 
statements it contains, approaching a scientific character, 
are free from the uncertainties of current speculations : 
and nothing could be a stronger demonstration of their 
divine origin than the fact, that, to this clay, the dis- 
closures of science have only multiplied the confirma- 
tions of their truth. In the great majority of instances, 
however, as already intimated, the natural world is 
here contemplated poetically ; in accommodation to the 
state of knowledge among the people, and in calm and 
assured waiting for such openings of science as may be 
important to the welfare of society in the progress of 
the Providence of all ages. 

But, not to dwell too long on these introductory 
observations, it is enough to say, that the text is an 
example of poetic illustration. Scientifically, the sun 
neither rises nor sets : neither shines more and more, 
nor less and less : knows neither clay nor night. Sci- 
entifically, we now regard the sun as ninety-five millions 
of miles from the earth: ever maintaining its " whole 
round of rays complete:" and whirling away, with all 
the planets, satellites, and comets, composing its mighty 
system, in an orbit almost infinite, around some most 
magnificent centre and balance of the universe. But, 
poetically, the sun is as near to us as ever : as familiar 
to us as ever : as exclusively our own as ever : and as 
incomparably glorious as ever. We personify it, and 
sympathize with it, as readily as ever. "We regard his 
course, as the work of a day, as much as ever. He 
awakes in the east, exults in the zenith, and retires in 
the west, as regularly as ever. The incidents of his 
circuit, whether favorable or unfavorable, are as inter- 



142 THE CHARACTER AND 

esting as ever. His superiority to all opposition is as 
transcendent and instructive as ever. And still, if we 
would illustrate the Character and Destiny of the Just — 
we cannot do so better than by saying, in the simple, 
beautiful, sublime, poetic language of the Bible : " The 
path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more 
and more unto the perfect day." 

These, then, are the points — the Character and 
Destiny of the Just. 

I. THE CHARACTER OF THE JUST. 

See how strongly the context contrasts with this, the 
character of the wicked. "Enter not into the path of 
the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men. Avoid 
it — pass not by it — turn from it — and pass away. For 
they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and 
their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to 
fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink 
the wine of violence." It would be difficult to select 
more forcible figures than these. They describe a 
course " earthly, sensual, and devilish." There is not 
a tint of heaven in it. " But — the path of the just !" — 
Oh! how exalted it is, above such degradation; and 
how open and glorious it is, in comparison with such 
cavern-like darkness : — it is even " as the shining light, 
that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 

The character of the just is distinguished by these two 
facts: 1. Its elements are pure and complete: and, 
2. They are well-proportioned in their combination. 

Let us glance at these elements. They are matters 
of intellect, sentiment, propensity, conscience, and will. 

The intellect of the just man is always thoughtful of 
moral principles. This accords with the direction of 
the Apostle Paul — himself an almost peerless example 



DESTINY OF THE JUST. 143 

of the character : " Finally, brethren, whatsoever things 
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever 
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; 
if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise — 
think on these things." 

Think on them. They deserve thought. Their 
positive merits challenge thought. Their nature and 
relations challenge thought. They are the glory of our 
constitution. They are the life of society. They lead 
to the contemplation of unfallen beings : of the Re- 
deemer of the fallen : and of the Father of all — in whose 
bosom these principles originate, and in whose govern- 
ment they are universally and eternally supreme. 

Think on them. Their comparative merits challenge 
thought. Compare them as you may, there is nothing 
so worthy of thought. In languages, a man may excel 
Porson or Lee : master all tongues, ancient and modern. 
In the natural sciences, ranging from Botany to Astron- 
omy, he may surpass Linneus and Newton, and the 
chiefs of all intervening departments. In mental 
science, Locke and Eeid, Cousin and Kant, Morell and 
Hamilton, may lag far behind him. In political science, 
Grotius and PufTendorf, Madison and Hamilton, may 
all be acknowledged his inferiors. And yet, if he 
neglect — which is hardly possible: or despise — which 
often occurs : moral principles — what is he ? Men may 
call him an archangel: but he is only an "archangel 
ruined." 

The sentiments of the just man admire moral principles. 
As exemplified around him, they charm him. He sees 
that they sustain self-respect: and claim, rightly, the 
respect of the community. Those who are governed 
by them, are honorable and serviceable in all their 



144 THE CHARACTER AND 

habits. Whatever their condition in life, their virtue 
dignifies and adorns them. In like manner, as the 
same principles complete their dominion over his own 
nature, his admiration of them increases. Before, they 
were matters of observation : now, they are subjects of 
experience. There is a difference between observation 
and experience, somewhat like that between sight alone, 
and sight in connexion with the other senses. For 
instance, we may see a fire at a distance: but if we 
draw near to it, we shall feel the heat, as well as see the 
light. So with moral principles. Their outward influ- 
ence may be known by observation. But the excellency 
of their inward power can be learned only by con- 
sciousness. As all that is true, and honest, and just, 
and pure, and lovely, of good report, and virtuous, and 
praiseworthy — is brought near to the man, and takes 
hold upon his being, and subdues, and saves, and. 
blesses him, so his admiration increases — not, indeed, 
of himself — but of these new and holy elements — these 
evidences of regeneration. The glory around him 
grows brighter, and the glow within him warmer. 

The propensities of the just man cling to moral princi- 
ples. As thought excites admiration, so admiration 
excites love. He naturally loves his family, his home, 
and his country : and, therefore, as his intellect discerns 
the connexions of moral principles with these interests, 
and his sentiments kindle into admiration of the beauty 
of the development, his very propensities become 
attached to them, and identified with them. 

The conscience of the just man is responsive to moral 
principles. Instead of being seared and dead, it is alive 
and quick. Its instant intuitions of virtue and vice, 
and its instinctive excitements, consequent upon these 
intuitions, aid the intellect in its studies, encourage 



DESTINY OF THE JUST. 145 

the sentiments in their admiration, and confirm the 
propensities in their attachment. Not vain, however r 
of its natural sagacity, it acknowledges the necessity 
and superiority of revelation; and corrects its own 
errors by the infallible decisions of the Word of God. 
Else, it might be educated here, as in heathen countries, 
to subserve all that is base and abominable. Indeed, 
even in our own land, where this standard is rejected 
or neglected — conscience is perverted, and becomes 
either a tyrant or a slave. Among the heathen, a 
false education makes it minister to self-indulgence and 
corruption, in one class of cases; and, in another, to 
the self-imposition and infliction of a thousand austeri- 
ties and pains. So, at home. In this very community 
are examples of both classes: among those who dis- 
honor the Bible. Their conscience is deluded : pander- 
ing to sin, on the one hand, as though it were no sin ; 
and, on the other, ordaining unrequired and unreason- 
able grievances, degrading to man and offensive to God. 
The conscience of the just man, however, worships 
before the embroidered veil of the Bible : and rules as 
the high-priest of the oracle of Jehovah. 

But, the willy also, of the just man, is faithful to moral 
principled. This is his grandest distinction. Intellect 
may know these principles: the sentiments admire 
them : the propensities impel to obedience : and con- 
science add its solemn injunctions: but, if the will 
fail — all is lost. Alas ! how many fail here ! "Why are 
they not dignified and adorned with the excellency 
of a noble and useful moral character ? Because they 
do not understand moral principles? No! Because 
they do not admire them ? No ! Because they have 

no propulsion toward obedience? No! Because con- 

10 



146 THE CHARACTER AND 

science confesses no obligation to obey? IsTo! Why 
then ? Because they will not obey ! Sometimes their 
will seems wholly inactive : at others, it acts feebly : at 
others, waveringly : at others, with spasmodic force, but, 
also, with spasmodic brevity : at others, it rebels against 
goodness : but how seldom is it resolutely set on the 
right! Yet, with the truly just man, it is so set. His 
will is unchangeable in its fidelity to piety and virtue. 
Pleasure may smile, wealth may shine, fame may 
attract, power may persuade; scorn may deride, wit 
may sneer, want may vex, affliction may frown, and 
persecution may smite: — "but" — says the just man — 
u none of these things move me, neither count I my life 
dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with 
joy." "Yea, doubtless, and I count all things loss for 
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my 
Lord." "My heart is fixed, God ! my heart is fixed : 
I will sing and give praise." 

Perhaps these are sufficient indications of the elements 
of the character of the just. " Whatsoever things are 
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things 
are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things 
are of good report — if there be any virtue, and if there 
be any praise," he thinks "on these things," and acts 
accordingly. Intellect, sentiment, propensity, conscience, 
and will are all devoted to the cultivation and exemplifi- 
cation of the principles of moral excellence in all their 
holiness and completeness. 

Let us glance, now, at the second fact — that these 
elements are well proportioned in their combination, in 
the character of the just. 

See ! A man may be, almost exclusively, an intel- 
lectual moralist: or, a sentimental moralist: or, an im- 
pulsive moralist : or, a blindly conscientious moralist : or, 



DESTINY OF THE JUST. 147 

a harsh voluntary moralist. But a truly just character 
is free from such separateness and exclusiveness. 

Again : a man may unite two, three, or four of these 
elements, without possessing all. But, in these cases, 
the character is still imperfect. All the elements are 
required. 

Again : a man may unite all the elements, and yet 
the union be disproportionate. But, what is wanted, 
is, a balance of powers : all the faculties and principles 
in equal and harmonious action. 

It is amazing how men deceive, and are deceived, in 
these connexions. See: first — their faculties: then, 
their principles. 

For instance, in relation to faculties. The intellectual 
moralist considers himself just, because he has made 
himself a casuist. His ethical discriminations are 
unerring: he can define any duty, solve any difficulty, 
settle any doubt : but, that is all. His theory sinks in 
his practice — like a clear stream in a marsh. 

The sentimental moralist regards himself as just, 
because he flames with admiration under some holy dis- 
cussion, or in the presence of some saintly character. 
Charming! — he exclaims: and then thanks the Lord 
that he is so sensitive to such charms. "Wait a little, 
and you will find, that when his excitement subsides, 
he is good for nothing. 

The impulsive moralist deems himself just, because 
he occasionally surprises his friends or the public by 
some unusually honorable and useful act. And yet, 
the intervals between such actions are occupied by 
meannesses which seem much more the result of prin- 
ciple — though an evil one — than these unexpected out- 
bursts of good. Sad, indeed, it is, when a man's good 



148 THE CHARACTER AND 

acts are mere matters of impulse ; and his bad ones the 
product of steady-working principle. 

The conscientious moralist calls himself just, because 
he is conscientious. But, because he has hands, is he 
therefore an artist f Because he has a tongue, is he 
therefore a linguist? Because he has a mind, is he 
therefore a philosopher ? Certainly not. Then — neither 
is he just, because he has a conscience. The artist has 
educated hands : and the linguist an educated tongue : 
and the philosopher an educated mind. So, the just 
man has an educated conscience. An ignorant con- 
science often gives great trouble. 

The voluntary moralist, in like manner, styles himself 
just, because he is determined to do right. Sometimes, 
he manifests his determination very harshly. And yet, 
a man who merely determines to do right, may, never- 
theless, do wrong. "Without the co-operation of the 
other faculties — enlightening, cheering, soothing, and 
directing it — the will is a cold, stern, obstinate, and 
heartless agent. 

But, notice the deception in relation to principles, as 
well as faculties. For instance, how many think them- 
selves just, and are generally acknowledged to be so by 
others — merely because they cultivate a certain class of 
virtues: neglecting others, equally, or more important. 
Are not both private life, and public life, full of exam- 
ples? 

How many are supposed just — simply because they 
pay their debts. Justice requires them to do this : but, 
after all, it may be done, not because justice requires it, 
but, in the way of selfish calculation. Are there not 
men, as punctual in their payments as any in the world, 
who, when they have paid a creditor the last cent due 



DESTINY OF THE JUST. 149 

to him, will seize the first opportunity of taking ad- 
vantage of him in a bargain ? 

But, suppose this exceedingly desirable punctuality 
to be an affair of pure principle; still, may not a man 
be just in this respect, and in all monetary relations, 
and yet be unworthy the round and glorious title of a 
just man in whole? Surely he may. "The just" is a 
character infinitely transcending such limits as these. 
It is a character which concentrates virtues of all 
classes: a character in whose presence every divine 
ordinance and every human interest are sacred and 
inviolate. 

But look at public life a moment: and the truth, 
though not more clear, may be more impressive. 

How many public men pride themselves on being 
just men, and are treated with the respect which none 
but just men deserve : who, nevertheless, live as though 
the moral law were not an ordinance of eternal and 
irreversible obligation — a law which it is infamy to des- 
pise and damnation to transgress — but, merely a matter 
of convenience, to be honored or dishonored, obeyed 
or disobeyed, as selfishness may plead to be expedient. 

How many apply moral principles differently to 
public and private affairs ! Privately, justice is greater 
than self : but, publicly, party is greater than justice. 
A private lie is unpardonable : a party lie may be tole- 
rated. Private fraud is abominable: party fraud is 
commendable. Really, it seems almost insufferable 
thus to speak: and yet, unless all parties are false 
accusers, it must be so. 

How many pursue an opposite course ! With these, 
vublic justice is everything : and private justice, nothing. 
Charge one of them with a public default — and he will 
challenge you to a duel ! Detect him in a private mis- 



150 THE CHARACTER AND 

demeanor — and, if yon promise not to expose him, he 
will langh at it, and boast of it ! 

How many more are there — who have been so trained 
by godly parents, and so encompassed by godly influ- 
ences, that they cannot doubt the divine obligation of 
every principle of Christian morals ; in all times, places,, 
relations, and circumstances ; private and public ; per 
sonal, partizan, and national: and who, because of 
educational convictions, devote themselves, with much 
commendable zeal, to things generally honest and 
honorable, and yet, alas for them ! — after all, in down- 
right, disgraceful, inexcusable self-indulgence, cherish 
some vice which they dare not own, and perpetrate the 
crimes to which it prompts them, with the secrecy of 
assassins, the lechery of brutes, the cruelty of fiends, 
and the mean and quivering forebodings of conscience- 
dogged and hell-hunted cowards. If such men as these 
have already disgraced many a high office in our State 
and General Governments : if even the highest office 
in the land, and, as we fondly and truly style it, the 
highest in the world, has not remained entirely un- 
spotted by such intrusion — let the people remember 
the melancholy fact only to swear — if a great nation 
may rightly perform such a solemn act — only to swear, 
on the altar whose first flames were kindled by the 
clean hands of Washington, with fire caught from 
heaven and freshly burning still— that it shall be so 
no more! Let them pray, rather, that, cold as the 
symbol may seem, the purity of perpetual snow may 
rest forever on the central and peerless summit of our 
common majesty and power! 

How vastly different is the truly just man from all 
such examples! The elements of his character are 
pure, complete, and well-proportioned. He cherishes 



DESTINY OF THE JUST. 151 

all virtues: and shows them in harmonious action. 
He remembers that — " Whosoever keepeth the whole 
law, and yet'offendeth in one point, he is guilty of all:" 
and there is a life-principle within him, of reverence 
toward God, which revolts from every thing sinful, 
secret or open, great or small. Such men are the 
pillars of faith, and temples of the Holy Ghost. 
But let us not forget — 

II. THE DESTINY OF THE JUST. 

"The path of the just is as a shining light, that 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day." It is 
compared, as you perceive, to the path of the sun. 
What, then, are the distinctions of the sun's path? 

It is a high path: far too high for any earthly 
obstruction. Mountains rise in vain. Clouds rise in 
vain. The mountains may hide it, awhile, both morn 
and eve : and the clouds may occasionally obscure it, 
even at noon. But, these are only apparent obstructions. 
Its true path is above them all. 

So with the path of the just. It is too high for men 
or fiends to obstruct. They may gird his whole horizon 
with stern and rocky opposition : they may send up 
from every marsh, and lake, and sea, of expanded and 
swelling calumny, clouds and storms of reproaches : — 
but the purpling peaks of the horizon shall foreshow 
the vanity of their intervention; and the lowering 
clouds of the zenith, shall only darken the regions 
whence they rose — the lightnings only strike, and the 
thunders only appall, the lowlands and shores where 
the elements of the tempest were collected. High over 
them all, the path of the just is unchangeably open, 
fair and serene. 

The path of the sun is a radiant path. It is not 



152 THE CHAEACTER AND 

only glorious. That expresses but half the truth. It 
is glorious because it is radiant. The sun is not like 
the moon — a mere reflector : glittering with borrowed 
light. Goc^ has given it light in itself: and therefore 
it shines, and cannot but shine. If the mountains 
could be lifted up, until they should enclose it, like a 
wall: and the clouds, ascending from the mountains, 
should concentrate their masses, and overarch it, like 
a roof — it would shine still. Kay, made the more 
intense by the confinement, it would turn the mountains 
into diamonds, and the clouds into crystals, and flash 
through them all, and fill the world with new splendors. 
So with the path of the just. His glory is from 
within. It is a radiation. Put him where you will ; 
he shines, and cannot but shine. God made him to 
shine. For instance, imprison Joseph — and he will 
shine out on all Egypt, cloudless as the sky where the 
rain never falls. Imprison Daniel — and the dazzled 
lions will retire to their lairs, and the king come forth 
to worship at his rising, and all Babylon bless the 
beauty of the brighter and better day. Imprison 
Peter — and, with an angel for his harbinger star, he 
will spread his aurora from the fountains of the Jordan 
to the wells of Beersheba, and break like the morning 
over mountain and sea. Imprison Paul — and there 
will be high noon over all the Roman Empire. Im- 
prison John — and the isles of the ^Egean, and all the 
coasts around, will kindle with sunset visions, too gor- 
geous to be described, but never to be forgotten — a 
boundless panorama of prophecy, gliding from sky to 
sky, and enchanting the nations with openings of 
heaven, transits of saints and angels, and the ultimate 
glory of the City and Kingdom of God. £Tor only so : 
for modern times have similar examples : examples in 



DESTINY OF THE JUST. 153 

the Church, and examples in the State. For instance, 
bury Luther in the depths of the Black Forest — and 
"the angel that dwelt in the bush" will honor him 
there : the trees around him will burn like shafts of 
ruby, and his glowing orb loom up again, round and 
clear, as the light of all Europe. Thrust Bunyan into 
the gloom of Bedford Jail — and, as he leans his head 
on his hand, the murky horizon of Briton will name 
with fiery symbols — "delectable mountains" and celes- 
tial mansions, with holy pilgrims grouped on the golden 
hills, and bands of bliss, from the gates of pearl, hasten- 
ing to welcome them home. And so, to say nothing 
of La Fayette, and thousands more in the sphere of the 
State, it is enough to make this one addition: arrest 
Kossuth — shut him down in the dungeon of Buda, or 
drive him, in exile, to the stronghold of Kutaiyeh, and 
he will shine still. Eising, ere long, from the confines 
of Asia, and beaming at once over Europe and Africa, 
he continues his high career across the Atlantic, salutes 
from afar the shores of America, and comes down in 
peace among the encircling splendors of the free skies 
of the West. 

The path of the sun is a teiumphant path. This, 
indeed, has been already intimated : but may be some- 
what amplified. The mountains surrendered to the 
sun thousands of years ago : and have been employed, 
ever since, morning and evening, to telegraph the ap- 
pearance and departure of their illustrious conqueror* 
The clouds surrendered, thousands of years ago : and, 
ever since, have risen and fallen at his command. Even 
the storm may not pass, without leaving a rainbow 
arch in acknowledgment of his dominion. From pole 
to pole, every living thing lights its eye in his ray : and 
there is not a tree, or flower, or blade of grass that 



154 THE CHARACTER AND 

bears not some token of his reign. The dew-drop 
glistens, and the great ocean basks in his beam. "His 
going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his 
circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid 
from the heat thereof." His sovereignty is universal 
and supreme. 

So with the path of the just. He is sure to triumph. 
God has ordained it : and it must be so. True : there 
may be a very solemn intervention here: before the 
triumph is secured — an intervention which is not unim- 
pressively symbolized by a total eclipse of the sun. I 
mean — the occurrence of death. Still, though deferred 
until after death — the triumph is certain, endless, and 
complete. The Apostles were martyred — martyred, not 
conquered : for, even at this day, their mighty spirits 
fill twelve thrones, and, in the name of their Master, 
give law to the church and the world. Thousands of 
confessors and reformers have risen from the scaffold 
or the stake, to stations of similar, if not equal, influence. 
And, oftentimes, it is glorious to see how the man 
truly just — though persecuted as long as he had a living 
body to define his presence : nay, whose dead body, 
instead of being decently buried, was divided, dis- 
tributed, and exposed: nay, sometimes, whose buried 
body, instead of being permitted to remain undisturbed, 
has been disentombed, and burnt, and scattered in 
ashes on wind and wave: has, nevertheless, ascended 
spiritually, even in this world, to an immortal princi- 
pality, and surrounded the mere apparition of his 
greatness with historians, orators, and poets; with 
sculptors, painters, and engravers ; with all the repre- 
sentatives of religion, and government, and literature, 
and philosophy, and science, and art ; drawing largely 
upon the wit and skill, the wealth and power of nations, 



DESTINY OF THE JUST. 155 

to recall and embellish the scenes of his supposed dis- 
grace, and to glorify the genius, and virtue, and heroic 
deeds, for which he was so long and so violently vilified, 
wronged, and abused. So has it been with "Wickliff, and 
Zwingli, and Wesley, and many more. 

But, once more, the path of the sun is a benignant 
path. It is not for a vain display of its own glory, that 
its path is so high, and radiant, and triumphant. Nay: 
it is the humble representative of its Maker s glory. 
Its Maker's glory is the glory of doing good. While 
showing that, the sun shows its own : and cannot avoid 
it. But its purpose is — to enlighten, and warm, and 
vivify, and direct the world. It shines, to temper the 
elements : to ripen vegetation : to quicken all forms of 
animate nature, and renew, in succesive generations, 
universal gladness. It shines, to awaken every farm- 
house and hamlet; every town and city; every land 
and nation: to cheer all toil, and assist all art, and 
encourage all adventure. It shines, to restore the 
summer of the pole ; and to open a channel for the ice- 
bound ships to return to the haven of home. It shines, 
to brighten the bars of the prisoner's narrow window, 
and bless him, in the gloom of his cell, with an angel- 
like companion. It shines, to lift the mists from the 
sick man's roof, to dry the air that glides through his 
dwelling, to relieve his oppressed breathing, to revive 
his feeble pulse, and to relume the languid eye that 
has longed all night for the morning. Had it not been 
for the innumerable offices of love, it would never have 
shone at all. 

And so with the path of the just. He . lives to 
glorify God, by doing good to man. True : there is a 
vast difference between the unconsciousness of the sun, 
and the consciousness of the man: the mechanical 



156 THE CHARACTER AND 

fulfillment of the office of the former, and the moral 
agency involved in the duty of the latter. The man 
may be tempted, and is tempted, to think of his own 
glory, in all his efforts, and in all his successes. But, 
just in proportion as he is just — he acknowledges this, 
and seeks, by the grace of God, to guard against it. 
He sees that the noblest of all conditions, is that in 
which the faculties are most fully developed, most 
highly accomplished, most efficiently exerted, and yet — 
most unselfishly consecrated, in co-operation with the 
Father, Son, and Spirit, to some department of the 
holy and benevolent work of human redemption. As 
Christ himself, when he came from heaven to save the 
world, improved every opportunity of incidental kind- 
ness: taught the woman at the well, enlightened the 
blind man by the wayside, and folded to his bosom the 
children of the poor : so his disciple remembers and 
imitates the example. As his character conforms to 
this ideal — his destiny more brightly describes its be- 
nignant circle in the firmament assigned him. He 
rises higher and higher, extends his vision farther and 
farther, and diffuses his influence wider and wider. 
"Wherever his light shines, his heat glows : knowledge 
and love spontaneously blending in common good. 
In time, it seems that nothing is too vast for his circum- 
spection, or too minute for his scrutiny, or too desolate 
for his regard. He beams from every point in the 
zenith; and reaches every point on the horizon. 
Glancing at the new sections of the social sphere, as 
they turn into the range of his radiating sympathies ; 
but never neglecting the near for the distant, the little 
for the great, or the duties of the present for contem- 
plations of the future — he withdraws not, too soon, a 
single ray, even from the violets below him, though 



DESTINY O.F THE JUST. 157 

continents challenge his attention from afar, and oceans 
clap their hands at the first flash, of his coming. Still, 
humbly but gloriously holding on his way — a light to 
the poor and oppressed ; to the tempted and persecuted ; 
to the sick, and dying, and bereaved, and forsaken ; — - 
a light to every interest of truth and right, of patriotism 
and philanthropy, of charity and piety; — wondering 
that he is so long upheld, adoring the goodness of the 
God who upholds him, and feeling every moment that 
if left to himself he would quit his place and wander 
in darkness — he fills the serene of heaven and earth 
with beauty and bliss, and then, blushing to think he 
has done no more, retires from this, to rise on a fairer 
and happier sphere. 

Methinks I see a statesman in whom the pure ele- 
ments of a just character were all combined in happiest 
proportions. 

Intellect, sentiment, propensity, conscience, and 
will — in study, in admiration, in impulse, in solemn 
responsibility, and in immovable determination — were 
all devoted to moral principles. 

Called to public posts of unequaled importance; 
pressed by most threatening dangers; supplied with 
inadequate means; — still, in darkness, in doubt, in 
defeat, in discouragement, did he ever oppose public 
morals to private, or dishonor his country by employing 
in her behalf expedients he would have disdained in 
his own? 

Or — while honoring his country, did he disgrace 
himself, by private vice? — by violations of truth, of 
chastity, or any other virtue that can be named? 

How modest he was in accepting ofiice ! how faith- 
ful in discharging its duties! how disinterested in 
rejecting its remunerations ! how exact, through a long 



158 THE CHARACTER AND 

war, in the record of its expenses ! and how happy to 
embrace the first opportunity of resigning his trust to 
those who gave it ! 

"With what wisdom in council, he then excelled his 
bravery in the field ! With what dignity and discretion 
he presided over the forming destinies of the States he 
had saved ! 

With what gladness he laid aside, both the sword of 
battle, and the robe of power ; for the fruitful plough, 
and the calm repose of his forest home ! 

With what peace — he died ! 

And yet — even Washington, the Just — had ene- 
mies! Reproaches, slanders, calumnies, assailed him. 
Intrigues wrought hard against him. Measures were 
urged to displace him. Mountains of opposition met 
him : tempests of difficulty thundered in his way : but 
lo ! — now, all is plain, and still, and his path — like that 
of the shining light — shineth more — and more — unto 
the perfect day ! America is all a-glow with his glory : 
the monarchs of Europe look up, and marvel at the 
majesty in whose presence their thrones turn pale: 
and still the acknowledgment extends, that the States- 
man of the West, who loved his country better than 
himself, is not only "first in the hearts of his country- 
men," but destined to be first in the hearts of mankind ! 

And yet — what is Washington, in the presence of 
Jesus ? At best — a sinner, saved by grace ! The man 
truly just — is the sinner justified by the grace of God, 
in Christ Jesus — and his path shall shine unto the 
fullness of the day that shall beam with bliss forever. 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 



"Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to 
light, through the gospel." — 2 Tim. i: 10. 

It is impossible to express the greatness of the 
interest I feel in this subject. The most transient intu- 
ition of it, by the mind, is oppressive to the sensibilities 
of the heart. On this account, it is difficult to treat it 
properly — difficult to secure due consecutiveness and 
dependency of parts, and comprehensiveness of general 
development. There is a sort of confused consciousness 
of being at the centre of a circling movement of innu- 
merable sublimities; too magnificent to be arrested, 
too complicate to be immediately understood, and too 
solemnly and divinely impressive to be calmly and 
clearly contemplated and studied. And yet, by the 
aid of the Holy Spirit, supplied in answer to humble 
prayer, the soul may antedate its destiny; and, even in 
the midst of the infirmities of the flesh, exert somewhat 
of the power which is to be one constituent of the glory 
of the life that shall come after. 

The context speaks of God — the Name of names! 
never to be taken in vain : the name of the Being of 
beings — infinite in all excellency of essential and un- 
changeable greatness, goodness, and bliss. It speaks 
of God, in connexion with Christ, and in connexion 
with ourselves. It declares that, poor, miserable, dying 

(169) 



160 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

sinners as we are, God a hath saved us, and called us 
with an holy calling:" and, that he has done this, 
"not according to our works, but according to his own 
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus 
before the world began:" and, moreover, that this 
original and most gracious design, though so long, for 
good reasons, withheld from the world, "is now made 
manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
who"— according to the glorious proclamation of the 
text itself — "hath abolished death, and hath brought 
life and immortality to light through the gospel:" by 
so doing, opening the way for the ultimate consumma- 
tion of the utmost intentions of God in our behalf. 

What now ? Do we believe all this ? Certainly, we 
have many and precious persuasives to confidence in 
it. It is the testimony of the Bible — the Book of God — 
his own record of his own government — exposed to a 
thousand conflagrations of rebellion, but, on every 
occasion, snatched from the midst of the flames, or 
unburied from the ashes of ruin, without the scorching 
of a page, or even the smoking of a letter — its truth as 
entire, its seal as distinct, and its signature as radiant 
as ever. It is the testimony of the Book which comes 
to us in the venerableness of incomparable ages — con- 
secrated and confirmed by the irresistible assurance of 
its unimprovable completeness — beginning with a his- 
tory that has nothing before it, and ending with a 
prophecy that leaves nothing after it — filling earth 
and heaven, time and eternity, with the tidings and 
the rapture of God's name, and God's grace, and God's 
Son, and God's Spirit, and God's people, and God's 
salvation. It is the gospel of all the high-minded and 
holy-hearted. It comes to us, hallowed by the trust 
of innumerable millions : by the smiles and songs, the 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 161 

tears and blood, the praises and blessings, of all gene- 
rations. Genius, learning, and love: wealth, honor, 
and power: have all bowed down in its presence, and 
offered their tribute of faith and devotion : and, though 
no art can adorn it, no opulence enrich it, and no pat- 
ronage exalt it, still the homage of a redeemed and 
grateful world is not to be rejected or despised. 

What then? Do we believe it? Surely, if we 
believe not this, there is nothing better we can believe : 
nothing so good we can believe : nothing at all we can 
believe. As to any thing superior — the world has 
never known it : never imagined it : and cannot imagine 
it. It is an infinite condescension, to challenge the 
world even to imagine any thing superior I What ! a 
God superior to "the Only True God?" A Saviour 
superior to "Jesus Christ, whom" he hath "sent?" 
A salvation superior to "eternal life?" In a word, a 
gospel superior to this gospel? The world has no 
dreamer to dream such dreams as these. As to any 
thing inferior — others may believe it, but we cannot. 
The Jews may believe in Judaism: i. e. in Judaism 
unfulfilled — but we cannot. The Mohammedans may 
believe in Mohammedanism — but we cannot. The 
Boodhists may believe in Boodhism — but we cannot. 
The Brahmins may believe in Brahminism — but we can- 
not. The Parsees may believe in Parseeism — but we 
cannot. The various tribes of savages may believe in the 
lowest grades of Fetichism — but we cannot. I repeat, 
therefore, that if we believe not this glorious gospel, there 
is no religion we can believe. If there be any true God — 
it is our God. If there be any true Saviour — it is our 
Saviour. If there be any true salvation — it is our sal- 
vation. If there be any true gospel music floating 

among the homes and sepulchres of this sad and deso- 

11 



162 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

late sphere, it is the melody of our own gospel — the 
prelude to the trumpets of the resurrection. 

"What then? Do we indeed believe it? If not, I 
have no hesitancy in affirming that the reason must 
be, not because it is too little, but, because it is too 
great for our faith. The day has forever gone by, in 
which the " exceeding great and precious promises" of 
the gospel could be reputably ridiculed. Who was it 
that said something like this — that he did not wish to 
go to heaven, to sit still, on a bright cloud, in a white 
robe, and sing hallelujah to all eternity? I do not 
remember: nor is it worth remembering. Even yet 
the mind of the world has not been brought up to a 
just apprehension of the grandeur of Christian contem- 
plations. But, it has been sufficiently elevated to be 
convinced that its former contempt of immortality was 
of all things itself the most contemptible. The higher 
it has risen, the more magnificent, and varied, and 
splendid, its panorama has become : and the more, in 
correspondence therewith, its own faculties have multi- 
plied their powers and developed their adaptations. 
The very sciences, which, after the utter exhaustion of 
the ancient opposition of Jewish pride, and Grecian 
wit, and Eoman might, have, in these modern times, 
been so diligently cultivated and so confidently relied 
upon for the disproof of the gospel — have confessed it 
their highest honor to add their testimony to its truth, 
and to merge their resplendence in its illustration. 
Anthropology — shining with the light of universal 
intelligence and kindling with the flame of universal 
sympathy — renews the announcement of the inspired 
Apostle, that God "hath made of one blood all nations 
of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and 
hath determined the times before appointed, and the 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 163 

bounds of their habitation :" and, meditating on Adam, 
on Christ, and on the saints, proclaims that the Model 
Man — 'the true offspring of God — is the man of the 
gospel. Geology, also, just recovering from the aston- 
ishment of its recent awakening, and beginning to 
understand the significancy of its perceptions, abandons 
its dream of an idle God and a changeless globe; 
trembles above the fires over which the continents are 
arched and the oceans roll ; and, recollecting the first 
creation and anticipating the second, adoringly admits 
that the Model World — the proper workmanship and 
mirror of God — is the World of the Gospel. And so, 
too, Astronomy, the oldest and most adventurous of the 
sciences, having long ago dissolved the firmament, and 
dissipated every crystalline sphere, and opened the 
ethereal immensity to the magnitudes and motions of 
the illimitable universe — returns from its latest and 
widest explorations, to bow its crown of stars at the 
name of Jesus, and acknowledge that the best expression 
of the universe is, the many-mansioned house of our 
Father — the imperishable home and inexhaustible 
domain of our immortality, as disclosed in the gospel. 

Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that infi- 
delity betrays a disposition to change its course. The 
Perfect Man of the gospel — can infidelity match that 
revelation? The Perfect World of the gospel — can 
infidelity match that revelation ? The Perfect Universe 
of the gospel — can infidelity match that revelation? 
The Perfect God of the gospel — can infidelity match 
that revelation ? And do not these revelations supply 
resources adequate to the utmost demands of immor- 
tality ? Can it be idle or tedious with such associations ? 

Who ever became tired of his position and relations, 
even here — unless by the pressure of such personal 



164 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

afflictions as will be forever excluded from the salvation 
of the gospel ? Who, with this exception, ever became 
wearied with the interchange of society, or the con- 
templation of nature? True, it may be answered — 
What is our life — in comparison with immortality? 
"It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, 
and then vanisheth away." But, did Methuselah grow 
weary ? Yet his life, also, was only as a vapor. But, 
had Adam lived to the present, can we imagine that 
he would have grown weary? Still, such a life, too, 
would have been only as a vapor, in comparison with 
immortality. True, I admit all this : but, after all, it 
can hardly be conceived that, if sin and death were 
unknown, we should ever grow weary even of such a 
world as this. The constantly changing events among 
men ; and the constantly changing scenery and influ- 
ences of earth, and seas, and skies; might afford us 
pleasure to all eternity. And yet, what a world is this, 
in comparison with the enlarged and glorified visions 
of the gospel ? To say that it is as a prison to a palace, 
is saying nothing. To say that it is as hell to heaven, 
is hardly saying too much. 

Why, the mere consciousness of personal perfection 
Would be a delight too great for eternity even to dimin- 
ish. But, to add to this the felicities of sympathy 
with a perfect society, composed of the saints of all ages 
and the angels of all orders ; with Christ as our Visible 
Head ; and the Father of all in omnipresent and un- 
ceasing communion with all : and all this in association 
with the whole variety, not only of all the present 
works of God, but, also, of all his future works : making 
him more and more manifest in the infinite richness 
of his unsearchable nature, forever and ever — surely, 
if we can form any proper conception of the meaning 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 165 

of such terms, they indicate, instead of the diminution, 
the increase of bliss — overwhelming as the thought 
may be — the unspeakable increase of bliss as long as 
immortality shall endure. 

"What now? This: as already stated, Infidelity 
betrays a disposition to change its course. Its complaint 
now is, that the inheritance of immortality is a destiny 
infinitely too great for man. The very desire for it is 
an experience of which every enlightened person ought 
to be ashamed. So write the recent English corres- 
pondents: "I think" — says one — "that not only is the 
desire taken for evidence, but the desire itself is a 
factitious thing." " I quite agree" with you : — says the 
other — " The desire of a future existence is merely a 
pampered habit of mind, founded upon the instinct of 
self-preservation. It is a longing, and those who have 
it are like drunkards or children." Certain German 
infidels go still further. " The idea of a future world' ' — 
says one — " is the last enemy whom speculative criticism 
has to oppose, and, if possible, to overcome." "So 
long" — says another — "as mankind shall hang, by a 
single hair, to the idea of heaven, there is no happiness 
to be looked for on earth." 

Are not these things surprising? I might well 
apologize for introducing them : were it not that the 
love of truth seems to be unsatisfied without a momen- 
tary acknowledgment, at least, that, in these times of 
universal agitation, even such sentiments are practically 
efficient, at home as well as abroad. I am aware, by 
my own experience, that too much attention may be 
allowed them for one's own peace of mind. As a 
general rule, it is best to let them alone. And yet, a 
duty to others may occasionally require the disturbance 
of our own tranquillity for their advantage. 



166 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

"What then ? I confess, with unutterable solemnity, 
that here is the point where my own faith in immor- 
tality is most accessible to my spiritual adversaries — 
the overwhelming greatness of such a destiny. At 
this point, therefore, it becomes me to be most vigilant 
to detect their approach, and best prepared to repuls 
their assaults. 

It is not, therefore, without hope, that I notice, in 
all such connexions, the admission of the fact and 
principle, that man desires to be happy, and ought to 
be happy. I, too, with my whole nature, plead for 
happiness : here or somewhere, now or sometime. If, 
then, it be asserted — that the only evidence of a future 
existence, is the desire for it : that this desire itself is 
a factitious thing, merely a pampered habit of mind, 
an intemperate or childish longing: that the very idea 
of such an existence is an enemy to our true interests : 
and that, so long as this idea is cherished, "there is no 
happiness to be looked for on earth :" — and if, therefore, 
in view of these considerations, it be proposed, as our 
best course, that we conclude there is no future exist- 
ence, and act accordingly : — then, lest such a procedure 
should prove precipitate, and have to be repented of, 
I wish to be well assured beforehand as to what will 
be gained by it. I wish to know in what ways, and to 
what an extent, happiness may be looked for on earth, 
when the last dream of attaining it in heaven shall be 
discarded. I wish to know what will be the condition 
of the heart, when no desire for a future existence 
shall remain in it — and what will be the condition of 
the mind, when the faintest idea of such a state shall 
have faded from it. Who will tell me these things? 
Are there any who have had sufficient experience in 
the process, to be prepared to persuade me of its 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 167 

delightful results? If not — if the demonstrations of 
experience be wanting — let me ask an answer to a few 
rational inquiries: — Will the denial of a future exist- 
ence prolong our present existence ? If not — will it, 
in any way, improve our present existence ? In relation 
to personal interests, will it remove our vices, relieve 
our sorrows, purify our motives, justify our plans, 
dignify our objects, prevent bereavements, or mitigate 
the pains and terrors of death? In relation to social 
interests, will it subdue wrong, establish right, equalize 
our estates, extend our sympathies, or harmonize our 
various and discordant classes? And in relation to 
natural interests, will it enrich the soil, or smooth the 
seas, or attemper the skies to pleasure and health, or 
by any means enlarge the income of joy from the earth 
itself, or from the planets, and suns, and systems 
around it ? "Where, I again demand, will be the gain ? 
Alas ! I fear, that if the hope of happiness in heaven 
were relinquished, the hope of happiness on earth 
would soon follow it ! Certainly, I say not this in a 
spirit of unworthy opposition. It is an honest, and 
earnest, and irresistible conviction. I cannot but fear, 
that, instead of improvement would come desolation : 
and such desolation as the world never saw. 

See ! The theory is one : and stands or falls in 
whole. If there be no immortality — there is no Jesus 
Christ. If there be no Jesus Christ — there is no God 
the Father. If there be no God the Father — there is 
no God at all. If there be no God at all — there is no 
true religion. If there be no true religion — there is 
no authority for government. If there be no authority 
for government — there is no obligation to obedience. 
If there be no obligation to obedience — there is no 
rule of life but self-interest. If there be no rule of 



168 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

life but self-interest — selfishness, and not justice, will 
determine its applications: and so society will be 
divided, and its divisions be forced into conflict, and 
the old alternations, but in worse forms than ever 
before, will be the perpetual alternations— from anarchy 
to despotism, and from despotism to rebellion, and 
from rebellion to anarchy, over and over again ! Mean- 
time, the institutions of religion being all swept away > 
with its doctrines — the Bible, the Sabbath, the Ministry, 
the Ordinances, the Sanctuary, the solemn assemblies 
of worship, all abandoned : and the institutions of the 
State, in every form, growing more and more insecure 
and oppressive: and all natural evils continuing to 
accumulate, unaccompanied by their former alleviations: 
how soon would the most sheltered seclusions of home 
be filled with the lamentations of private pain, and 
grief, and despair! and how awful would prove the 
helpless agony of the race in whole — " strangers from 
the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without 
God in the world !" 

Surely this sketch is not overdrawn. Eather, it is 
entirely too tame. In such a case, extravagance is 
impossible : and inevitable realities exceed all previous 
imagination. One case, and well is it that there is 
only one : one case, and it is to be hoped the world 
will never know another like it: one case in history 
sadly enough illustrates the horrors of such a condition. 
I allude, of course, to the Eevolution in France, at the 
close of the last century. See the Bishop of Paris, 
with his apostate priests, moving, in open procession, 
to the Convention ; and there hear him publicly pro- 
claim that the religion of Christ is an invention of 
priestcraft! See the doors of that same Convention 
again thrown open to another procession ; and a harlot 



LIFE AND IMMOETALITY. 169 

unveiled, at the right hand of the President, as the 
G-oddess of Reason, and the object of national worship ! 
See the cemeteries overhung with the inscription — 
Death is an eternal sleep ! See the churches closed, the 
worshippers scattered; and the splendid cities and vine- 
shaded hills, of the beautiful land and the glorious 
people, overrun, and denied, and accursed, with the 
consecrated carnival of murder and lust! 

But here is the searching question — how long did it 
last? Was even that one generation content to die 
out, with no God but Uncleanness, and no hope but 
Corruption? BTay, verily: for the Eeign of Terror 
was only a one year's reign! The banishment of 
religion was but of a few months' continuance ! The 
Convention hastily decreed the re-acknowledgment of 
the Supreme Being: and united with the people in a 
festival to His honor! 

But, what is now proposed ? It is proposed, virtually, 
if not formally, that, next time, there be no relenting ! 
It is proposed that Infidelity be enthroned again : its 
dominion to be extended over all nations, and its place 
to be maintained forever ! In a word, it is proposed 
that the Eeign of Terror be established over the whole 
earth, to endure to all eternity ! I say — to all eternity : 
and I mean all I say. For, do you not see that Infidelity 
has nothing to do with time, except in relation to the 
individual man ? Infidelity knows nothing of time, in 
relation to the race, or to the earth, or to the universe. 
It has no history of a beginning : and no prophecy of 
an end. Man, as man, has lived from eternity, is living 
in eternity, and will live to eternity. And so with all 
nature — it is all eternal. Hitherto, not because of sin, 
but for want of infidelity, our race has been wretched : 
and that, not for six thousand years only, but, from all 



170 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

eternity ! Hereafter, also, still not because of sin, but 
for the same want of infidelity, the race will continue 
wretched, and that, not only for six thousand years 
more, but, to all eternity ! — unless, indeed, the present 
proposition be accepted! If this be done, the evil 
shall be corrected. Then, happiness may be looked 
for on earth! Then, it will be sure to appear, and 
what tongue of fire shall tell the glory of its advent ! 

Alas ! I cannot trust it ! It were vain for me to 
make the effort. The nature of things is against it: 
and all history is against it. "What then? Let me 
return to the gospel, and try this again. Really, it 
does not seem so hard to believe it now, as it did 
before. One very impressive fact, at least, has come 
to light. If the promise of the gospel be too great for 
my faith — even in this respect, Infidelity could not 
relieve me. Infidelity, as well as Christianity, confesses 
the doctrine of eternity. We are environed by duration, 
as we are by space. Both press upon our consciousness, 
and are alike irresistible. We cannot set bounds to 
them. We cannot escape the conviction of their abso- 
lute infinity. Something, therefore, must be eternal. 
There is but one question for dispute : and that is — 
What is eternal ? If, now, Infidelity teach the eternity 
of man, of the earth, and of the universe — is it not 
more reasonable for Christianity to teach the eternity 
of God? True: man, the earth, and the universe, are 
objects of sense : and God is imperceptible to the senses. 
But what of that? Thought is insensible; and it is 
thought, not sense, that requires a cause : a cause like 
itself, insensible. Christianity, by teaching a God, 
assigns a cause for everything : but Infidelity, denying 
a God, leaves me without a cause for anything. Again: 
if Infidelity teach the future existence of our race, is 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 171 

it not more reasonable for Christianity to teach the 
future existence of the individuals who compose it? 
True : individuals die, while the race multiplies. But 
what of that ? Death is only a sensible change : and 
sense cannot determine what is reasonable. It is 
thought, not sense, that demands immortality : and that 
for this reason — If the race only be immortal, then 
there is no hope of essential improvement : but, if indi- 
viduals be immortal, then improvement may proceed to 
perfection, and perfection exult forever. Which, then, is 
the worthier doctrine; and which is it the easier to 
believe ? — the everlasting succession of fugitive, misera- 
ble, and unimprovable generations ? or, the immortality 
of individuals ; finding, in a better world, an abundant 
recompense for the sorrows of this, and vindicating, to 
all eternity, by the grandeur of their developments and 
attainments, the character and government of him who 
created and redeemed them? Surely, the latter view 
is the more rational and the more credible. This 
doctrine has a meaning, and a glorious meaning, too: 
but the other means nothing at all. An immortality 
of personal and social perfection may be so sublime as 
to confound my imagination and overawe my faith, 
but it does not contradict my reason : but the notion 
of an eternal multiplication of men as they are, perishing 
so fast, and perishing forever, is a notion that does 
contradict my reason : a contemplation so ignoble, that 
faith turns from it in disdain, and imagination with 
disgust. 

And what now ? Certainly, if I must be overpowered, 
it shall only be by god-like sublimity, glory, and bliss. 
If I am challenged to the exploration of eternity, I will 
choose for my guide, not the demon of Infidelity, but, 
the angel of Christianity. I will make my confession, 



172 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

before I start, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost. I will acknowledge time, as well as eternity. 
I will remember the connexions of my text. I will 
remember God's "own purpose and grace which was 
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." I 
will remember how this grace of God was manifested 
"by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ," when 
the world was four thousand years old. And then I 
will recall the text itself. I will cherish it as an indis- 
putable truth — nay, as a fact rather than a doctrine — 
a real, personal, perpetual, still-subsisting, and forever 
unchangeable event — that Jesus Christ "hath abolished 
death, and hath brought life and immortality to light 
through the gospel." I will study this event : study it 
in its own proper and inspired records : study it in all 
its earthly and heavenly associations : study it through 
falling tears, and with a glowing mind, and with a 
grateful heart, and with lips quivering with thanks- 
giving, and a tongue ever ejaculating praise. I will 
remember when he did it— more than eighteen hundred 
years ago. I will remember where he did it — at the 
garden sepulchre, close by the wall of Jerusalem. I 
will remember how he did it — by his own almighty and 
immortal resurrection and ascension. And I will 
especially remember why he did it — to demonstrate and 
illustrate the true and hastening destiny of our race. 
Then, thus prepared, I will yield to the first impulse 
of my angel-guide, and rise from this globe of graves : 
and surmount all the circles of time: and sweep out 
into the immensity of space and the eternity of dura- 
tion: and soar away to the central presence of God, 
and to the open vision of Christ, and to the "innumera- 
ble company of angels," and to the "innumerable 
company" of saints, and to the fellowship of all col- 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 173 

lected at the Throne, and to the observation of all 
dispersed through the universe, and to the admiring 
contemplation of their exalted intelligence, holiness, 
and joy; the dignity of their employments, and the 
increasing magnificence and attractiveness of their 
prospects: and if, at last, I must faint, though the 
angel hold me — must faint, under the "far more ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory" there revealed — 
still, such an oppression will be a pleasure, if, by 
bearing it, I may only forget the miserable eternity of 
infidelity in this world, occupied as it is, and must be, 
not by anything worthy of either God or man, but only 
by sin, and shame, and sorrow, and death, and dust, 
and darkness, and doubt, and dread, and despair. 

If, now, recovering from such oppression, any should 
charge me with folly, and renew the assertions — that 
the desire for personal immortality is factitious, a pam- 
pered habit, a drunken longing : and that the very idea 
of it is an enemy, mischievous to our intelligence and 
peace: I am not without a sufficient answer. See: 
the book from which I preach is, in part, the most 
ancient record extant. Roman literature is modern, in 
comparison with it. Grecian literature is modern, in 
comparison with it. Herodotus, " the father of profane 
history," came a thousand years after Moses; and 
Sallust, five hundred later still. Nor only so : but this 
book professes to give the history of the world, in so 
far as was needful, from the very creation of the world. 

What then? What then! Why, it demonstrates, 
from the beginning, the truth of St. Paul's declaration 
in the latter part of it : — that, instead of its being any 
local, unnatural, artificial, and pampered habit — the 
result of any instinct of mere physical self-preserva- 
tion — this lofty and irrepressible desire is the extorted 



174 • LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

cry of the spirit for its proper birth-right destiny: its 
universal and perpetual demand for a condition worthy 
of its powers, and of the God who gave them: "For 
we 'know'" — says the Apostle — "that the whole creation 
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" — 
" earnestly" expecting and waiting u for the manifestation 
of the sons of G-od" "In the day that thou eatesfc 
thereof, thou shalt surely die." He did eat, and did 
die : and was it not natural for him to grieve for his 
incomparable loss, and implore restoration ? And why 
did Abel sacrifice ? And why did Enoch cleave close 
to the side of God ? And why did Eoah adhere" to his 
righteousness? And why did Abraham go forth on 
his unknown journey? Was it not because of the 
desire for immortality? And by what art was this 
desire excited in them ? Who pampered such a habit in 
these fathers of the world? Go back to the scene of 
the first transgression. Hear the threatening on the 
serpent — the devil in the serpent — the tempter to 
death — The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head! 
That threatening upon the true enemy of man was the 
promise of continued life and restored immortality to 
the world. It was the art of G-od, and the pampering 
of the Eternal, that encouraged his dishonored children 
to look again toward the skies. "These all died" — 
says the Apostle : aye, but then he adds — " in faith, 
not having received the promises, but having seen 
them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and em- 
braced them, and confessed that they were strangers 
and pilgrims on the earth." Come down to the time 
of Job. Standing, as he does, midway between the 
beginning and the present, let him speak for all. "For 
there is hope of a tree" — he complains — "if it be cut 
down, that it will sprout again" — "but man dieth, and 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 175 

wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and 
where is he ? As the waters fail from the sea, and the 
flood decayeth and drieth up : so man lieth down, and 
riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not 
awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. Oh that thou 
wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou wouldst keep 
me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldst 
appoint me a set time, and remember me. If a man 
die, shall he live again ? all the days of my appointed 
time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, 
and / will answer thee : thou wilt have a desire to the 
work of thy hands." Yes: verily: not only does man 
desire deliverance from his ancient oppression: but 
Gk)d himself sympathizes with him, in this respect. 
He can neither forget nor despise the work of his 
hands. The time of wrath must run out: the great 
demonstration of the evil of sin must be completed: 
but then God will call, and the- innumerable millions 
of all ages will respond from land, and seas, and skies, 
with the shout of salvation and the anthems of im- 
mortality. 

What then? Do we believe it? Ah me! how 
mournfully many spoke who came after Job ! Hear 
the Psalmist: "In death, there is no remembrance of 
thee : in the grave who shall give thee thanks ? " And 
again: "What profit is there in my blood, when I go 
down to the pit ? Shall the dust praise thee ? Shall it 
declare thy truth ? " And again : " Mine eye mourneth 
by reason of affliction : Lord, I have called daily upon 
thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee. Wilt 
thou show wonders to the dead ? Shall the dead arise 
and praise thee ? Shall thy loving kindness be declared 
in the grave ? or thy faithfulness in destruction ? Shall 
thy wonders be known in the dark ? and thy righteous- 



176 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

ness in the land of forgetfulness ?" Hear the Preacher, 
also: "A man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: 
for all is vanity. All go nnto one place ; all are of the 
dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the 
spirit of man, that goeth upward, and the spirit of a 
beast that goeth downward to the earth ? ' ' And again — ■ 
"Though, he live a thousand years, twice told, yet 
hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?" 
And again: "To him that is joined to all the living, 
there is hope : for a living dog is better than a dead 
lion. If or the living know that they shall die : but the 
dead know not anything, neither have they any more 
a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also 
their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now per- 
ished : neither have they any more a portion forever in 
anything that is done under the sun." And again: 
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, 
nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." 

Is there anything like art here ? Alas ! this is the 
great burden of humanity. The huge heart of the 
world moans forever with the echoes of such lamenta- 
tions. 

Sometimes, indeed, the desire for immortality, after 
thus declining into melancholy, grew strong again in 
faith, and resumed the language of triumph, or the 
words of wholesome warning. So the Psalmist 
exclaimed, in terms that shine with new beauty as now 
daily repeated: — "Though I walk through the valley 
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou 
art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me !" 
And so the Preacher, also, closed Ecclesiastes with the 
exhortation and assurance : " Let us hear the conclu- 
sion of the whole matter; Fear God, and keep his 



LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 177 

commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with 
every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it 
be evil." 

In short, the whole history is the history of a great 
and solemn struggle. A factitious desire indeed ! A 
pampered habit indeed ! Alas ! as no art excited it, 
so no art can suppress it! Intemperance, instead of 
encouraging it, has often been resorted to, to throw it 
into stupor, and in many sad and separate cases, has 
awfully succeeded. But still, high above all the har- 
monies of art, and high above all the uproar of passion, 
and high above every other sound that rises from the 
earth, ascends the original, universal and perpetual 
cry — the immortal pleading of the race for personal 
and relative immortality! 

But what says the text? What need of prolonged 
discourse? Jesus Christ — " hath abolished death, and 
hath brought life and immortality to light through the 
gospel." 

This is the only question — Bo we believe it f If so, 
we follow in the train of the great and good of all 
lands and ages. Especially since the opening of the 
Christian era, countless millions have quickened their 
heavenward steps in matchless exultation. The whole 
course is strewn with the honors, and treasures, and 
cast-off adornings, of genius, and learning, and bravery, 
and beauty, and rank, and office, and wealth, and 
power : with the tears of the bereaved, the prayers of 
the poor, and the blood of the martyrs : all hasting to 
lay hold on eternal life ! In the rear of the procession, 
we discern the forms of our own beloved ones: who 
glided from our arms into the pathway of glory, and 
still turn to smile upon us from afar, and beckon us 
after them! 12 



178 LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. 

Oh, do we indeed believe in immortality ? What a 
motive is here ! I feel the need of it constantly. The 
Lord increase my faith! The Lord increase our faith! 
How should our spirits thrill with the inspiration of 
such a truth ! Thank God ! there are some among us, 
who are living for eternity. To them, at least, death 
is abolished. Life shines upon their vision, like the 
morning star ; and immortality expands to their view 
like the sunrise on the mountains. If we ask them — 
Where are your friends? — they answer: A little 
ahead — but we shall soon overtake them ! Thank God, 
again, that such of his saints still linger among us ! 
What a blessing it is to hold companionship with them ! 
They "wear the world as a loose garment," and are 
ready, at a moment's warning, to throw it aside, and 
sink to their hopeful rest in the place where Jesus lay. 
The fringes of their eye-lids will lie close in the dark- 
ness of the sepulchre : but their souls will extend their 
perceptions from the throne of the Highest to the 
circle of the universe: and derive their joys from the 
communion of the saints and angels, the ceaseless love 
of Christ, and the inexhaustible fullness of God. 



A NEW-YEAR'S SERMON. 



"What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I 
will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I 
will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people." — 
Psalm cxvi: 12, 13, 14. 

I saw the Old Year. He was lying on a bed of 
gathered leaves. The grass around was brown and 
withered; save here and there, close by the edge of 
the snow-patches, where it retained somewhat of its 
greenness. The turf was almost as hard as the pike— 
the smooth and stony pike, that glared in the lamp- 
light, and rung under the rattling iron hoofs and wheels 
of the passing mail. Of course, it was a secluded spot : 
away from the tide, with its ships and steamboats ; and 
away from the wire, the rail, and the whistle. The 
spring gurgled out from the hill-side ; but was almost 
hidden by the long icicles that hung thick from the 
moss-line, on the front of the over-jutting rock, down 
to the very basin of the fountain : nor was it seen long, 
for, as it came out between the icicles, it slipped under 
the ice that covered its channel, and again found itself 
almost as much in the dark as it was before it escaped 
from the inner crevices of the hill. Over the rude 
couch of the dying Year, the trees spread their leafless, 
snow-sprinkled branches, as though they would gladly 
have sheltered him if they could; and the breeze 

(179) 



180 a new-year's sermon. 

moaned by his side, as tenderly as though a woman's 
sympathy had touched it into piteous sweetness. The 
air was very keen, and very clear : and the barking of 
the distant watch dog, startled by that passing mail, 
sounded loud and fierce, as if on the very border of 
the glen. 

That glen was thronged with an almost innumerable 
spiritual multitude. The four seasons were there. The 
twelve months were there. The fifty-two weeks were 
there. Three hundred and sixty-five days were there. 
Three hundred and sixty-five nights were there. Nearly 
nine thousand hours were there. More than half a 
million minutes were there. And more than thirty 
millions of seconds were there. The seasons were dis- 
tinguished by the varied color of their robes — white, 
green, yellow, and purple. The months had a fillet of 
silver net-work on every forehead, adorned with a 
crescent of shining pearl. The weeks wore a seven-hued 
girdle, with a brilliant clasp — adorned with an altar, 
olive-branch and trumpet. The days bore an image 
of the sun on every breast-plate. The nights held a star, 
downward, on the head of every sceptre. The hours , 
minutes, and seconds, carried each a miniature diamond 
chronometer: those of the hours, with an hour-hand 
alone ; those of the minutes, w r ith a minute-hand alone ; 
and those of the seconds, with a second-hand alone. 

The pale Patriarch, thus surrounded by his immense 
host of descendants, summoned me into his immediate 
presence. I passed through the parted lines, and knelt 
by his humble pallet. "I have called you hither" — 
said he — "not for your own sake alone, but, for the 
sake of the church and congregation to which you 
minister. I have called you to commit to you, for 
them, my last and most solemn message. I am only 



A new-year's sermon. 181 

one of the six thousand Princes of Time. Time is the 
son of eternity. Eternity is the son of God. Next to 
his being the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the most 
glorious title the Almighty bears, is that of the Father 
of eternity! From eternity, down to the youngest 
second, all ages, and years, and seasons, and months, and 
weeks, and days, and nights, and hours, and minutes, are 
his messengers : intrusted with his richest benefits, and 
commissioned to bear them to man. My mission, like 
that of my predecessors, is ended. Before their de- 
parture, they reminded you of God's goodness. Before 
my departure, I remind you of the same. My office 
has been one of ceaseless love. If you marvel that I 
am encompassed by such a host, I have only to inform 
you, that they have been my faithful assistants, as well 
as my affectionate children; and that the reason of 
their multitude is the multitude of God's benefits 
to man. A smaller number would fail to distribute 
his abounding mercies. There is not one, in all this 
array, who has not been thus employed." 

"Ere I die" — he continued — "I will question them 
in your presence ; and you must report their testimony 
to the worshippers in the sanctuary : 

"Seasons! — What have you given to man?" And 
the four Seasons answered — " Gf-od's benefits!" 

"Months! — What have you given to man?" And 
the twelve Months answered— "God's benefits!" 

" Weeks '.—What have you given to man?" And 
the fifty-two Weeks answered — "Gfod's benefits!" 

"Days ! — What have you given to man?" And the 
three hundred and sixty-five Days answered — " God's 
enefits!" 

"Nights!— What have you given to man?" And 



182 A new-year's sermon. 

the three hundred and sixty-five Nights answered— 
"God's benefits r 

"Hours! — What have you given to man?" And 
the nearly nine thousand Hours answered — " God's 
benefits!" 

"Minutes !— What have you given to man?" And 
the half-million Minutes answered — " God's benefits /" 

"Seconds! — What have you given to man?" And 
the thirty millions of Seconds answered — " God's ben- 
efits!" 

"Servant of God!"— said he — -"Minister of Christ! 
You have heard their uniform answers. With my own 
fast-failing breath I confirm their truth. I have super- 
intended their toil. I know that our whole mission 
has been occupied in the distribution of 'God's benefits.' 
Return to your charge ! The chapel will be open and 
illumined. The people will be assembled. You an- 
ticipate the solemnity of the occasion; and honestly 
and earnestly desire their profit. Tell them, that you 
have seen the dying Year. Tell them, that they them- 
selves must die. Tell them, that when their own 
death-time shall come, the world will be withered 
around them, as it is now withered around me ! Tell 
them, that they, too, must lie down on the dead leaves 
of their summer prosperity! Tell them, that every 
garden of pleasure will then be as desolate to them, as 
are now these fields of nature to me — the verdure all 
wasted, the trees all stripped, the streams all frozen, and 
the air crisp, and cold and still ! Tell them, that they 
will then have but one hope, as I have now! See!" — 
said the weary and dying pilgrim — lifting his kindling 
eye, and pointing, with thin finger, to the heavens — 
" See ! though the sphere of my labor on earth is all 
blighted and drear — no change is there ! Or if, in that 



a new-year's sermon. 183 

high place of reward, there be any change, it is only 
for the better. Behold ! the blue skies are bluer now, 
and the bright stars brighter now, than they were in 
mid-summer. Nothing withers or declines there ! There 
is the inheritance which is incorruptible, and undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away ! That is my hope : that is 
their hope : that is our only hope ! But, thank God ! 
it is a sufficient and glorious hope ! 

"Go! — and tell them, that ' God's benefits' begin 
with life, but do not end with death : that they com- 
mence on earth only to multiply in heaven : and that, 
while they enrich us in time, they will endure through- 
out eternity ! Go ! — and tell them, that the Old Year — 
looking back from his pallet of dry leaves to scenes of 
freshest beauty and bliss: and looking up, from this 
wasted world to a universe of imperishable grace, glory, 
and rapture — breathes out his last prayer in their behalf, 
that every one among them may immediately and 
solemnly consider the great and pressing question, ask- 
ing, with the Psalmist — ' What shall I render unto the 
Lord for all his benefits toward mef — and answering 
with the Psalmist, also — 'J will take the cup of salvation, 
and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows 
unto the Lord, now, in the presence of all his people!' ,: 

So ending, the dying Year drew from his bosom a 
many-leafed scroll, and put it in my hand, saying: — 
"Take this scroll. You will find it composed of 
hundreds of messages, severally addressed to your 
hearers. Distribute them, as a final token of my 
regard for them ! But see ! " said the fainting Old Year, 
kindling again as he spoke — " see ! they come ! " 

As he spoke, a pale, long-drawn light, as though the 
milky way were settling earthward, descended through 
the thin air, and rested, like a glimmering mist, on the 



184 A NEW year's sermon. 

dusky range of the horizon hills. I rose, gazed, 
and drew back from the coming of One, glowing with 
angel glory, and yet with the countenance of a younger 
brother of the waiting pilgrim. He stooped by the 
humble pallet: and the leaves, and grass, and snow, 
and icicles, and frosted trees, and hills, all glittered 
with a golden sheen! Behind him, fairer seasons, 
and months, and weeks, and days, and nights, and 
hours, and minutes, and seconds, in far-gleaming per- 
spective, dimly waved their line. I saw the New Year 
kiss the Old: and the Old arose at that token, and 
stood by his brother's side, and acknowledged him as 
his successor, and resigned the sceptre to him, and 
embraced him, and blessed him, and bowed to his 
attendants, and then beckoned to his own, and ascended 
with them, softly and beautifully as the scintillations 
of the aurora, vanishing at last among the conscious 
and welcoming stars. The New Year and his host 
glanced, smiling, at the quick and happy transit : and 
then dispersed, on errands of mercy, through all the 
earth; to meet again, when another New Year shall 
hang out his signal in the sky, and come to enter on 
his reign. 

The vision has past ! And now, I stand here in your 
midst to discharge my duty. It is as plain and simple 
as it is solemn. I unroll these messages for distribu- 
tion : and examine them : and find them duly directed. 
Not a person is present to whom one is not sent. They 
are sent to both sexes, to all ages, and to all relations ; 
domestic and social. They are sent to daughters, 
sisters, wives, mothers, and a few even to grandmothers. 
They are sent to sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, and 
a few even to grandfathers. They are sent to servants, 
apprentices, laborers, masters, mistresses, and employ- 



A NEW year's sermon. 185 

ers; to mechanics, manufacturers, artists, merchants, 
and bankers ; to students, teachers, physicians, lawyers, 
and officers of the General and State governments ; to 
preachers, pew holders, church members, church officers, 
and Christians of every grade and name. In a word, 
they are sent to all classes, and to every individual in 
every class. 

On looking at them more closely, I perceive, that, 
although written within and without, the two sides are 
in different languages. It is only the language on one 
side that I can read. This informs me, however, tha + 
the characters on the other side will be perfectly intelli 
gible to the person for whom the message is intended. 
It is the appeal of the Spirit of God to every one's 
conscience: and that Spirit, having inspired the Old 
Year to make the record, will be sure to interpret it, 
as soon as conscience shall look upon it. 

On the side that I can read, I see, at the top of every 
record, this inscription: 

the lord's benefits toward me. 

Under this inscription, I find a long enumeration of 
such items as the following — some of them on every 
message, and others divided among various messages : 

1. My Bodily Benefits. The continuance of life; 
health and strength; preservation from accident, 
violence, and disease ; freedom from pain ; my members 
all sound; my organs of sense, speech, and motion 
still vigorous in the performance of their several func- 
tions ; a thousand dangers, at home and abroad, in all 
manner of conveyances, by land and water, escaped 
without harm: my chief capital, and greatest physical 
comfort, the sense of industry, the energy that animates 



186 A NEW year's sermon. 

effort, tlie ready ability to labor, most mercifully kept 
from waste and exhaustion. 

2. My Spiritual Benefits. Intellect, comprehensive 
and clear as ever: nor only so, but, more enlarged, 
more enlightened, and more thoroughly disciplined. 
Perception, reason, judgment, memory, and imagina- 
tion, all true to their high trusts. The sentiments, 
too, still exquisitely sensitive : gratitude, honor, courage, 
justice, mercy, benevolence, truthfulness, all responsive 
to every proper claim . The affections, too, ardent as 
ever, and growing more pure: love, friendship, joy, 
peace, and all gentle and blissful emotions. Conscience, 
too, still unseared, quick, indeed, and tender as the 
apple of an eye; and, with it, the free, prompt, deci- 
sive, and indomitable will. A thousand temptations, 
unavoidably arising from my nature, position, and 
relations ; and tending, either to undue depression or 
undue excitement, all graciously restrained, and pre- 
vented from doing me any essential ill. 

3. My Family Benefits. [Here the records vary more. 
You will know how to apply their points, however, as 
I proceed — some suiting one family ; others, another.] 
Our new home, opened with great comfort. My bride — 
and a new circle of affectionate relatives with her. 
My groom — and a new circle of affectionate relatives 
with him. Every prospect as bright as heart could 
wish. Again — Our old home, happier than ever. My 
wife, still spared to me, and our children. My husband, 
still spared to me, and our children. Again — Various 
birth registers : our first child ; our first daughter ; our 
first son ; our fifth child ; our tenth child. And again — 
Our threshold, safe from spoilers; our hearth-stone, 
ever warm ; our table, ever full ; our wardrobe, well 
supplied ; our roof, untouched by fire ; our group of 



A NEW year's sermon. 187 

love, unbroken by bereavement; our children, fond 
of the week-day school, fond of the Sabbath school, 
and fond of the church : free from vicious habits and 
associations ; and promising to be the stay and rejoicing 
of our latter years. Our oldest daughter — well settled. 
Our oldest son — well established in business. Every 
room in our house— a closet of prayer. Our family 
altar — still duly supplied with fresh offerings every 
morning and night. Our whole company, always in 
grateful readiness to repair from the home of love to 
the sanctuary of piety. A blessed hope always burn- 
ing in all our hearts, that we shall be reunited in a yet 
happier home in heaven. 

4. My Business Benefits. [Here, too, there is no 
little variation. But a few words will intimate all that 
is necessary. Hark !] Constant employment — nearly 
constant employment — increase of wages — -good sales — ■ 
good returns — large profits — brisk seasons — enough to 
live on — something laid by — relieved from many diffi- 
culties — debts gradually diminishing — times more 
easy — a safe and prosperous establishment — quite inde- 
pendent — extraordinary success — far in advance of my 
former compeers — nothing now to fear, unless it be the 
deceitful and corrupting influence of great wealth. 

5. My Civil Benefits. An heir of liberty. A native 
of the noblest land, and a citizen under the best govern- 
ment on earth. A descendant of many generations 
of freemen : and with their purest blood still beating 
the pulsations of independence in my veins, like the 
drums of the revolution. Or — an adopted citizen: 
unable to claim the highest birth-right dignities and 
privileges, but, with sense enough to appreciate my 
acquired advantages, and with spirit enough to unite 
with the sons of the soil in opposition to all foreign 



188 a new-year's sermon. 

clanship, and in maintenance of genuine American 
principles and interests in all righteousness and peace. 
A sovereign — among millions of equal sovereigns. A 
man — as fully developed as a mere civilian can be: 
exulting that there is no thrall on my own flesh or 
spirit; determined that there never shall be any; and 
praying God, with all my heart, that, in his own good 
time and way — to my poor thought, the sooner the 
better — all men may enjoy the same glorious distinction. 

6. My Ecclesiastical Benefits. Connected with a 
free Church, corresponding with our free State: no 
imposed pastor; no legal tax; no tithes; no dis- 
senters' reproach; a free Bible; a free pulpit; a 
free baptismal font; a free communion table; a free 
marriage-altar; a free place of sepulture; a free 
officiary; a free membership; a free congregation — 
all free as the gospel itself: or, if, in any respect, not 
yet perfectly free, not quite practically free, still, easily 
made so, practically as well as theoretically, and which 
ought to be made so, and must be made so. Means 
of grace — all blest in my experience. Again — a peni- 
tent; a believer; a baptized believer; a communi- 
cant believer ; a fellow-citizen with the saints, and of 
the household of God ; a child of God ; an heir of 
God; a joint-heir with Christ; a lover of the Bible; 
a lover of prayer ; a lover of public worship ; a lover 
of social worship ; the fear of death all gone ; holiness, 
daily increasing; my hope of heaven, in full bloom. 

7. My Disciplinary Benefits. Occasional chastenings, 
for the improvement of my character and destiny; 
sick, for a week; sick, for a month; health, gen- 
erally, much impaired; business, falling off; unjustly 
and unkindly reproached ; injured by some in whom 
I most confided ; difficulties multiplied by the thought- 



A new-year's sermon. 189 

lessness and carelessness of those who should have 
diminished them. Again — lost a friend. Or, lost my 
father. Or, lost my mother : my wife : my husband : 
my child: my brother: my sister. But — sickness of 
my body sanctified to the salvation of my soul. Declen- 
sion of business — followed by increasing confidence in 
Providence. Man's reproaches make more precious 
God's approbation. Treachery of friends makes more 
delightful God's fidelity. Carelessness of friends makes 
more impressive God's watchful tenderness. Bereave- 
ment, notwithstanding all its anguish, has been over- 
ruled in mercy to my spiritual advantage. My heart 
has been carried to heaven by those who have gone 
before. All things, in fulfillment of Scripture, have 
worked together for my good. 

But — further detail is needless ! Of these, and similar 
items, the whole record is composed: that is, the 
record on the side which I can read. The other side, 
as already stated, is in a language which none can read 
for you. It is enough to know that it is a continued 
and special enumeration of " God's benefits" toward 
each one of you in particular. I might imagine the 
meaning, in some cases ; but will not attempt to do so. 
You would feel, perhaps, as though I were intruding 
upon a forbidden sphere. It is a sacred appeal, by the 
Spirit of God, in the sight and hearing of God, to your 
own consciences. The Lord will assist you in reading 
it : and notice your thoughts, and feelings, and purposes, 
while you read it. 

But, this I may say: even in view of the benefits 
already enumerated, how great is the solemnity of 
this appeal ! Think of them again : Your bodily bene- 
fits : spiritual benefits : family benefits : business bene- 
fits: civil benefits: ecclesiastical benefits, and disci- 



190 A new-year's sermon. 

plinary benefits. And now, in remembrance of all, 
let the inquiry be announced again, and let conscience 
be called upon to respond to it. I have no doubt it 
will be a more common response than is generally 
heard, even during the reading of prayers in some of 
our sister churches. I have often felt the solemnity 
of that : and surely, to say the least of it, this should 
be no less solemn. Hark! 

" What shall I render :" 

"What shall I render:" 

"Unto the Lord:" 

"Unto the Lord:" 

"For all his benefits:" 

"For all his benefits:" 

"Toward me?" 

"Toward me?" 
Is there one person present, whose conscience does 
not thus apply the subject? Is there one who does 
not feel that it involves the most imperative and 
pressing obligations ? Surely not. 

Wliat then ? Are you ready to say — Tell us what to 
do, and, if the message appear to come from God, we 
will obey it? I cannot do this with the particularity 
which some might desire. I repeat, that the whole 
matter is an appeal to the conscience of every one 
among you. You are to answer the question for your- 
selves. I would not dare to assume the responsibility 
of a full and minute reply. God forbid that I should 
ever usurp, or even accept, the office of an absolute 
and infallible spiritual director. I can only declare, 
according to my purest honor and clearest intelligence, 
as a minister of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, the general principles of truth and duty 
which I believe should govern every one of you, in the 



A NEW YEAR'S SERMON. 191 

case before us. These principles are concentrated in 
the accompanying statement of the Psalmist. Imitate 
him ! Hark : — 

"I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the 
name of the Lord." 

See that ! There is the first principle. Personal 
salvation! Devote yourselves, in commencement or 
in continuance, to the great work of securing your own 
salvation. Nothing can excuse the neglect of the duties 
belonging to this great work. Life is wasted, utterly 
wasted, except as these duties receive attention. 

Notice the two points here : 1. I will take the cup 
of salvation ; and, 2. Then I will call upon the name 
of the Lord. 

" I will take the cup of salvation." Here is the con- 
fession of sin. Here is the exercise of faith. Here is the 
grateful and hopeful acceptance and improvement of 
the appointed mediation between God and men. As 
a sinner, I will not dare to draw near to Infinite Holi- 
ness, without an appropriate offering. Not one word 
of prayer or praise will I presume to breathe, until I 
am thus prepared for it. Therefore, " I will take the 
cup of salvation:" the cup of wine — symbolical of the 
blood of sacrifice : the cup of wine — commemorating 
the work of atonement: the cup of wine — which re- 
minds me of precisely the mediation I need, and on 
the efficacy of which I can repose with perfect con- 
fidence. 

To us, as Christians, speaking still more plainly, the 
blood of Jesus is the true atonement : and the sacra- 
mental cup, which is now before us, is its duly ordained 
and most significant memorial. If, therefore, you ask 
me — " What shall we now do?" I answer thus: First 
of all, take this cup of salvation. Take the cup — drink 



192 a new-year's sermon. 

the wine. Take even the outward sign of the atone- 
ment; but see to it, more especially, that you peni- 
tently and faithfully apply the atonement itself to your 
inmost hearts and consciences. In a word, take proper 
advantage of the mediatorial sufferings and death of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ : and then — but no 
till then — sinful as you are, you may acceptably ap 
proach the Highest. 

" I will call upon the name of the Lord." Here are 
the offices of prayer and praise. The Psalmist was 
remarkable, perhaps above all men, for his ardent de- 
votion to these duties. It is not too much to say, that 
his prayers, and his praises, have become, to a great 
extent, the prayers and praises of the whole world. 
For twenty-eight centuries they have been constantly 
ascending, day and night, to the throne of Jehovah. 
In the Psalm now before us, he exclaims — "I love the 
Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my suppli- 
cations. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, 
therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." Such 
ardor is well worthy of perpetual imitation. 

Among us, as Christians, there can be no doubt of 
the essential connexion of prayer and praise with the 
beginning and progress of personal salvation. Sin is 
pardoned, in answer to prayer : its power is broken, in 
answer to prayer ; peace springs up, in answer to prayer ; 
holiness increases, in answer to prayer; all heaven 
descends, in answer to prayer; and then, gratitude 
requires praise ; love, and joy, and hope, all prompt the 
tongue to praise. Clearer views, larger views, more 
glorious views, of the divine perfections and govern- 
ment, and the tendency of all things toward ultimate 
vindication and bliss — such views, ever accompanied, 
as they are, by a thousand kindling raptures — all 



A new-year's sermon. 193 

heighten and strengthen the impulse to praise. The 
Bible is full of incitements to these duties. And so is 
Providence: every day bringing occasions for both 
prayer and praise. If, therefore, I be further asked — • 
What shall we do f— how can I answer better, than by 
saying, simply but earnestly, "Call upon the name of 
the Lord." Pray more! Praise more! Spiritual life 
is to be secured and perpetuated only by communion 
with its source. That source is in God. Having 
taken "the cup of salvation" — -come to God without 
fear; come, even with "boldness;" come close to his 
throne — for it is now the throne of grace, the seat of 
mercy, and, so coming, you "may obtain mercy, and 
find grace to help in time of need." Alas ! how many, 
in a dying hour, have regretted the neglect of these 
duties ! but who was ever known to deplore their per- 
formance? The Lord help us, that this New Year 
may find us more faithful in all these connexions of 

PERSONAL SALVATION. 

But — mark the succeeding statement, also. "I will 
fay my vows unto the Lord, noiv, in the presence of all 
his people." See that! There is the second principle. 
Social salvation! Eemember your "vows unto the 
Lord:" your professional obligations to his house, and 
cause, and people. Honor his house. Sustain his 
cause. Encourage his people. Be sympathetic and 
co-operative with all. Make your zeal, in good works, 
manifest and exemplary in the sight of all. So far as 
your means and influence extend, let nothing languish 
in this noblest of enterprises. The neglect of the 
duties involved in this requirement, will be almost sure 
to be followed by the neglect of your own best 
interests. Give up the cause of God, in the church at 

13 



194 a new-year's sermon. 

large, and in the world at large, and you will be likely 
to give up your own salvation. 

As Christians, Protestant Christians, Evangelical 
Christians, Independent Bible Christians — these duties, 
in my humble judgment, ought to press upon us 
exceedingly: and particularly at this juncture. Even 
in the days of the Psalmist, true religion extended its 
relations much more widely than seems to be generally 
supposed. But, in these days, our form of it— the 
highest and best development of it — Christ's own 
development of it, in all its New Testament purity, 
simplicity, and glory — why, this is the one, grand, 
peerless interest of the world ! There is scarcely a spot 
on earth which is not, at this very moment, mightily 
affected by Christianity. And, now, as it always has 
been, and always will be, it is everywhere aggressive! 
It has enemies; and knows them, and expects to meet 
them, and is prepared to meet them, and goes forth to 
meet them, and is happy to meet them— and sure to 
conquer and destroy them. Never did the battle reach 
so far, or wax so hot, or bring into action such a multi- 
tude and variety of antagonisms, as are now contending 
against the truth. Never were the disguises of its foes 
so numerous, so deceptive, or so mischievous. If it 
be possible, they will delude the very elect. Never 
was pure Christianity more lonely, in the great conflict, 
than at present. Yet, never was the perception of its 
sovereign majesty — shining like a God through all the 
clouds of war — more enchanting: and never was there 
a sublimer heroism than that which is now summoned 
to follow in its train. Never, moreover, was its 
triumph so near; or the thought of it, so dear. Look 
ing up to the throne of the Great Arbiter of the long- 



A NEW YEAR'S SERMON. 195 

protracted strife, we can scarcely restrain the impatient 
cry — "Come, Lord Jesus! come quickly!" 

Now, in this state of things, every man has more to 
do than attend merely to his own interests: every 
church has more to do than attend merely to its own 
interests: and every confederation of churches has 
more to do than attend merely to its own interests. 
Our "vows unto the Lord" require, that we unite, to 
the utmost possible extent, in promoting, to the utmost 
possible degree, "the work of the Lord:'" maintaining, 
at all risks, the truth of the Lord — contending " earnestly 
for the faith once delivered unto the saints." 

Nor let it be thought, even for a moment, that what- 
ever is to be done, is remote from ourselves. No, no : 
in our own country, in our own state, in our own city, 
in our own sanctuary, the great work of social salvation 
constantly claims our time, our talents, our means, our 
zeal, and our prayers. Sentimentalism as wide as the 
world, is not worth one good day's work at home. 
The enemy is here — in a thousand seductive disguises : 
and must be met and repelled, on the spot. There is 
as much necessity for keeping the "truth as it is in 
Jesus" pure, and free, and efficiently operative, in 
Baltimore, as in any other city on earth. 

What then? Brethren! brethren of this church! 
Look within you, and around you, and above you. 
Rightly estimate your nature, your calling, your des- 
tiny — and act accordingly. Rightly estimate your 
education, your character, your reputation, your posi- 
tion, your opportunities, your resources, and your 
responsibilities — and act accordingly. Another year, 
full of blessings, demands some sensibility, some grati- 
tude, some acknowledgment, some thanksgiving, some 
offering, some renewed, united, and earnest effort for 
Christ and his cause. 



196 A NEW year's sermon. 

Wliat shall it be f It is not for me to suggest. I am 
only, for the time, "your servant, for Jesus' sake." 
But, I honestly and earnestly desire your prosperity. 
I pray God to bless your counsels, and direct your 
action : to send you soon, from the north, or from the 
south, or from the east, or from the west, the pastor 
of his choice as well as your own : under whose min- 
istry this sanctuary shall again become a centre of 
attraction, a fountain of influence, a high place, and a 
heavenly place, of spiritual wisdom, and power, and 
glory. I pray that this New Year may prove to be the 
year of your permanent re-establishment — the com- 
mencement of an era hitherto unequaled in your 
history, highly favored as it has been — an era of unparal- 
leled harmony, energy, usefulness, and joy. 

But lo ! the New Year stands in the aisle ! I see his 
angel beauty ; and welcome him among us. One of 
the seasons is with him — the white-robed Winter. One 
of the months is with him — with the fillet of silver 
net-work, and the crescent of shining pearl. One of 
the weeks is with him — with the seven-hued girdle, 
and its brilliant clasp; adorned with the altar, olive 
branch, and trumpet. One of the days is with him — 
bearing the image of the sun on his breast-plate. One 
of the nights is with him — holding up a star, on the 
head of her sceptre. Twelve hours are with him; 
and more than seven hundred minutes, and more than 
forty thousand seconds, are waiting without. 

Why art thou here ? thou youthful Prince of Time ! 

"I am here" — he answers — "to strengthen your 
appeal. I am here, to promise a continuance of ' God's 
benefits ' to those who shall honor his cause. I am 
here, to say to the people — If, during all my term, ye 
would have every month, and week, and day, and 
night, and hour, and minute, and even every second, 



A new-year's sermon. 197 

bless you — attend to the blended interests of personal 
and social salvation : cherish the Church, which Christ 
hath purchased with his own blood. 

"I cannot, indeed" — he proceeds — "make special 
promises. It is not mine to say — Whether the body 
shall live or die; whether the soul shall retain its 
powers, or lose them ; whether the family shall remain 
united, or be separated ; whether business shall flourish, 
or decline; whether civil and ecclesiastical relations 
shall be strengthened, or impaired ; or whether chasten- 
ings shall be many or few, slight or severe. But this 
I must and do aver — that he who remembers ' God's 
benefits' toward him, during the term of my prede- 
cessor, with the most grateful devotion, has the greatest 
reason to hope for their renewal and increase through- 
out my own. At any rate, whatever the guise in which 
they come, ' all things work together for good to them 
that love God.'" 

But why does the New Year kneel in the aisle? 
And his train — why kneel they all ? 

Behold ! A still diviner form stands by the table ! 
He, who, of old, when "the door was shut," came in 
among the disciples, and stood in their midst, and 
said "Peace be unto you!" and showed them his 
wounds, and accepted their homage, and confirmed 
their faith — even he has entered here. Behold him ! 
Hear him! 

" Ye are my witnesses !" " This do in remembrance 
of me." "Take the cup of salvation, and call upon 
the name of your Lord. Pay your vows unto your 
Lord, now, in the presence of all my people." 

Is it not Jesus ? Let us pray ! 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 



"Worthy of all acceptation." — 1 Tim. i: 15. 

Let us consider the claims of this statement. These 
are embodied in the phrase— it is " worthy of all accep- 
tation." 

To accept the saying, is to believe it and act accordingly : 
to believe "that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners" — and, as sinners, to seek and secure the 
salvation thus provided. 

In this sense, the saying is worthy of acceptation; 
and worthy of all acceptation : i. e. worthy of universal 
acceptation — worthy, especially, of our acceptation. 

It is worthy, because it is true. It is worthy, because 
its truth meets the need of the whole world, and sup- 
plies it — oneets, especially, our own need, and sup- 
plies it. 

Let us so contemplate it : first, in its general, and then 
in its special relations. 

I. ITS GENERAL RELATIONS. 

When it is thus affirmed that the gospel — for this 
saying is the sum and substance of the gospel — is 
worthy of all acceptation, I regard the affirmation as 
implying that no other religion is worthy of any accep- 
tation. That the gospel claim does imply this, is 
(198) 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 199 

unquestionable: and that the implication is just, is 
abundantly evident. 

Now, this is an important fact. ,Man has beeo styled, 
philosophically and distinctively, a religious animal. 
I do not admire the collocation: but it is susceptible 
of an interesting exposition. Religion is the bond 
which allies its subject to God. It brings God down 
to its subject: and raises its subject up to God. It 
establishes conscious communion between them. God 
knows all his creatures: but all his creatures do not 
know him. Religion divides his creatures into two 
classes: elects one to acquaintance with God, and 
leaves the other in ignorance of him. The inferior 
animals are without religion. They know nothing of 
God. In this respect, though identified with them in 
some others, man differs from them all — infinitely 
differs. He has religion. He does know God. His 
very nature is religious : so religious, that the sins of 
six thousand years have not destroyed the ideality of 
divinity even in the most degraded of our race. There- 
fore, the history of man is the history of religion. 
True, in great part, it is the history of false religions : 
but the prevalence of these, in the absence of true 
religion, is only the demonstration of a religious nature. 
The inferior animals are as incapable of false, as they 
are of true religion. The nearest knowledge they pos- 
sess of anything divine, is their knowledge of man: 
and this, doubtless, is merely an animal perception, 
that comprehends not that which is really God-like 
in man. 

In view, then, of this great distinction of humanity, 
I repeat that there is great importance in the fact, that 
the gospel is so exclusive in its claims. There are many 
religions. The world has always been full of them: is-. 



200 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

still full of them. Such as have perished, were all 
local and fraternizing religions. Such as exist now, 
with the exception of the gospel — and, perhaps, the 
lingering shade of Judaism — are all local and frater- 
nizing religions. If they dwell apart — they ac- 
knowledge each other, respectfully, as well adapted to 
their several districts. If they dwell side by side, in 
the same community, they make similar acknowledg- 
ments of their adaptations to diverse classes. If their 
deities were all arranged on pedestals, around the 
rotunda of a modern Pantheon, they would smile on 
each other, and repose together in perpetual peace. 
But not so with the gospel. The gospel is exclusive 
and repulsive. It claims to be the true religion — and 
the only true religion. It claims to be the religion that 
meets and supplies the whole need of man — and the only 
religion that does this. It claims, therefore, to be 
worthy of all acceptation — and the only religion that is 
thus worthy. It declares that other religions are all 
false, and all /<9wZ,and all unworthy of any acceptation. 
It abhors any compliments from them. It disdains 
any participation with them. It denounces them all 
as execrable impositions; and dooms them all to utter 
destruction. True: some of them are numerically 
stronger than the gospel, and occupy ampler territories. 
All combined, they are at least four times as strong, 
in both place and people. But these facts are nothing 
to the gospel. The gospel asks no quarter, and gives 
no quarter. And this is no new thing. It was the 
same of old. It was the same when Judaism was 
enshrined on Moriah, enthroned on Zion, expanded 
over Palestine, and enriched by the tribute of colonies 
throughout the world: and when, at the same time, 
Heathenism not only tolerated, but protected, Judaism ; 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 201 

exalted, itself, to an eminence so much more sublime, 
commanding from the heights of Imperial Rome the 
homage of all mankind. Even then, when Rome and 
Jerusalem, Heathenism and Judaism, had just united 
in crucifying the Saviour— when his name was despised, 
and his salvation despised, and the humble city in 
which he had dwelt, always despised, was despised the 
more for having yielded him a home: even then, the 
gospel stood up before the blood-stained tyrants, and 
in the presence of all their hosts, and declared in tones 
as serene and sure as the utterance of God — "Be it 
known unto you all" — that — "there is none other name 
under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be 
saved" — but the name of "Jesus Christ of Nazareth!" 
And when they derided the testimony, the gospel con- 
tinued : — "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish : 
for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall 
in no wise believe though a man declare it unto you!" 
And as the work went on, and the incredulous des- 
pisers did behold, and did wonder, and did perish — the 
gospel lifted her triumphant chant above their dishon- 
ored sepulchres, singing — "Where is the wise? "Where 
is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? 
Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" 
And this was not a vain boast. The body of Judaism 
is in its sepulchre yet: though its spirit still haunts 
the earth, as though hunting for the Messiah, and 
hoping for a resurrection. And so Heathenism — that 
is, the Heathenism of the Roman world — is in its 
sepulchre yet, with no spirit to wail over it, and no hope 
of revivification. It is true, indeed, that other enemies 
of the gospel have usurped the ruins of Jerusalem and 
Rome ; and seem, like demoniacs, to love the shadow 
of the tombs : but these enemies are not Judaism and 



202 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

Heathenism — they are Popery and Mohammedanism. 
The seal on the chamber of the Crucified was broken by 
the angel of God, on the morning of the third day: 
but ages on ages have elapsed since the risen Eedeemer 
sealed the vaults of his executioners, and there is not a 
power in the universe that would dare to touch those 
seals. As they were, so they are — symbols of eternal 
silence. 

The spirit of the gospel is still the- same. It is still 
exclusive and repulsive. It still claims to be "worthy 
of all acceptation," and therefore demands that every 
other religion, which is now accepted, shall be aban- 
doned, and that the whole world shall embrace and 
obey the truth. 

You see, at once, that this is a just and noble ex- 
clusiveness. It is not like the exclusiveness of secta- 
rianism — that professed friend, but real enemy, of the 
gospel: ever seeking to vindicate its own miserable 
narrowness by misunderstandings and misrepresenta- 
tions of the broad generosities of the gospel. It does 
not divide its own subjects by attempting to reduce 
the immensity of the Bible within the paltry limits of 
a hundred crafty and conflicting creeds : or by inventing 
as many arbitrary, unrelenting, and Providence-defying 
governments : or by magnifying mere modes of ordi- 
nances into girdles of charity and means of salvation. 
It does not estrange its own ministers, one from an- 
other ; and its own members, one from another ; and 
its own churches, one from another; merely because 
of differences of opinion in relation to things too diffi- 
cult for any common authority to settle, or too trifling 
for any common authority, with any propriety, to take 
the trouble of settling. It does not say to any one party 
of Christians— Be exclusive and repulsive toward all 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 203 

other Christian parties ! It does not say, to the whole 
circle of Christian parties, Rule your ministers and 
people, internally, with rods of iron ; and watch each 
other, externally, with perpetual jealousy and rivalry! 
~No — never: no — never! It knows too well how sec- 
tarianism distracts the work of salvation at home, and 
retards it abroad. It knows too well how sectarianism 
ministers to Infidelity : and how both cast stumbling- 
blocks in the way by which Mohammedanism and 
Paganism should be, and might be, conducted to the 
Cross. 

Alas ! Sectarianism has no right to be exclusive and 
repulsive. Do you ask me — "Why? Why — indeed! 
Who does not see the reason? Who does not feel its 
force? Why? Because it is not " worthy of all accep- 
tation!" Nothing has a right to be exclusive and 
repulsive unless it is "worthy of all acceptation." 
The gospel itself ought to be censured, rather than 
applauded, were it not distinguished by this character- 
istic. But does this characteristic distinguish sectarian- 
ism ? Which of the sects is " worthy of all acceptation V* 
And is the system, in whole, "worthy of all accepta- 
tion?" Would the gospel mission be accomplished — 
if the jarring creeds, and jarring governments, and 
jarring ordinances of sectarianism, were extended 
throughout the world? — if, in all lands, their rival 
machineries were exhausting all the energies of iron 
and steam ; of gold and silver ; of voice, and pen, and 
press; of bone, and brain, and heart; of genius, learn- 
ing, and zeal ; of tact, cunning, and skill ; of congre- 
gations, confederacies, and hierarchies; in maintaining 
and urging to their ultimate mutually-destructive issues, 
their present deplorable struggles of false authorities ? 

No — no : the gospel has a right to be exclusive — a 



204 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

right to be repulsive. Such a spirit, and such a course, 
become its divine dignity: the divine dignity of its 
origin, the divine dignity of its character, and the 
divine dignity of its end. It has a right to be so — for 
it is "worthy of all acceptation." This is the gospel 
cry — "Do you acknowledge the faithful saying?" Do 
you believe "that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners?" "Will you embrace him as your Saviour? 
and obey him as your Saviour ? Repenting of your sins, 
and imitating him who "knew no sin" — will you take 
part in the great work of persuading the world to re- 
nounce sin, and so, of reclaiming it to wisdom and holi- 
ness, to glory and God ? If so — that is enough. Come 
with me — and thou shalt inherit the earth. Come with 
me — and ye all shall inherit the earth. Come with 
me — and ye all shall be one in the enjoyment of the 
honors and felicities of the Kingdom of God. But, 
if ye deny the faithful saying: if ye deny "that Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners" — that is 
enough. I exclude you. I repel you. As I live, no 
false religion shall find rest for the sole of its foot. 
However ancient, however extended, however mighty, 
however illustrious, however venerated by their miser- 
able dupes and slaves, and victims, I will hunt such 
religions into the ends of the earth. I will weary them : 
I will waste them : I will exterminate them. They 
shall not retain book or charm, shrine or idol, temple 
or tent, priest or altar, monarch or menial — in all the 
world. Too long have they cursed it already : blighting 
its flowery vales with crime, and darkening its golden 
mountains with wrath: grouping its isles as lairs of 
lust, and grinding its continents into deserts of hell. 
I am the angel to declare it, and to swear it, that such 
time shall be no more ! Wherever God's light shines, 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 205 

God's truth shall shine. "Wherever God's heat glows, 
God's love shall glow. Wherever God's wind breathes, 
God's spirit shall breathe. Wherever God's water 
flows, God's salvation shall flow. Wherever God's 
ground blooms, God's grace shall blossom, Wherever 
God's ransomed sinners have wandered, God's white- 
robed saints shall find a home. Wherever sin has 
kindled a blush of shame, the tears of penitence shall 
glisten in the radiance of reconciliation. Wherever 
sorrow has prompted the utterance of a sigh, the 
music of consolation shall warble into ecstacy. Wher- 
ever death has dropped the curtain around an evening 
sleeper, the angel of hope shall hang her lamp from 
the lintel, and then sit down upon the threshold, beside 
the angel of the resurrection, to wonder at the beauty 
of the night, and wait for the glory of the morning. 
Sectarianism and Infidelity; Paganism and Moham- 
medanism — all the perversions of true religion, and all 
the devices of false religion — shall surrender the do- 
minion of the world to One infinitely mightier than 
they: and the "faithful saying," which is " worthy 
of all acceptation," shall wmall acceptation: and then, 
the flowery vales, unblighted by crime ; and the golden 
mountains, undarkened by wrath ; and the holy isles, 
like recovered Edens ; and the happy continents, like 
symbolic heavens — from sea to sea, shall sing: from 
shore to shore, shall ring: from the deepest depths 
shall cry : from the highest heights reply : and thrill 
the enchanted sky — with the only good news on earth, 
the only glad tidings under heaven — "that Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners!" 

But, let me turn from these general relations — a 
theme which can scarcely be touched — and notice, in 
the next place, the special relations of this saying. 



206 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 



II. ITS SPECIAL RELATIONS. 

If this gospel announcement be "worthy of all ac- 
ceptation," it must, of course, be worthy of our accepta- 
tion. And, if no other religion be worthy of any 
acceptation, no other, of course, is worthy of out 
acceptation. If it be, therefore, the crowning distinc 
tion of our nature, that it is a religious nature, it is 
plain that we can meet the demands, and sustain the 
dignity of this nature, only by becoming Christians — and, 
I may add — nay, I must add it, only by becoming 
Bible Christians, protestant Christians, evangelical 
Christians, experimental Christians, or, in a word, 
truly spiritual Christians. 

This is the claim of the " faithful saying" upon us. 
How irrational and ruinous it must be to deny, or in 
any way to attempt to evade, this claim. 

Some of us acknowledge these special relations, and 
honor them : acknowledge that the gospel is worthy of 
our acceptation, and accept it : profess to be Christians, 
and endeavor to sustain our profession by our practice. 
Others, virtually if not formally, reject the gospel: live 
in as utter neglect of it, as though the " faithful saying" 
had never been uttered — or, though uttered, were not 
true : or, though true, were of no importance. 

How shall I address these different classes ? 

To you, my brethren ! who comply with the claims 
of this subject, I have somewhat to offer. You confess 
that our nature is religious: that we were created in 
contradistinction from all other earthly beings, and in 
pre-eminency over them, to know, and love, and serve 
God. You regard this as infinitely the noblest element 
in our constitution. You would deem the loss of it 
equivalent to annihilation. Even in view of its present 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 207 

developments, it is rich in blessing: and the prospect 
of its future disclosures is ineffably magnificent and 
splendid. You see plainly, that one soul, capable of 
religion — capable of communing with God — is far 
greater than all other beings, incapable of this, in all 
the universe. 

Again : You confess that it is your natural duty to 
cultivate this natural capacity. iNay, further, you confess 
that, as this capacity is the noblest provision of our 
constitution, so it is your highest duty to cultivate it. 
!Nay, farther, you understand and appreciate the fact, 
that, as it is your highest duty, so it is your highest 
interest to cultivate it. You would deem it to be living 
worse than in vain, to live in negligence of these obli- 
gations. 

Again: Confessing your religious obligations, you 
have become, as a matter of course, professors of 
Christianity. Your early education prepared you for 
this : your later observation has assured you of its pro- 
priety. If there be anything clear in your convictions, 
it is this — that you have been created a religious being 
in vain, unless Christianity be true : that there is no 
other religion which meets the wants of our nature — 
no other which you can conceive it your duty or interest 
to adopt — no other that is worthy of your acceptance — 
no other that you ought not to reject. 

Again: As professors of Christianity, you rank 
yourselves with protectant Christians — more particularly 
still, with evangelical Christians — more particularly 
still, with experimental Christians— with truly spiritual 
Christians. Your early education prepared the most, 
if not all, of you, for this: and your later observation 
has only confirmed, more and more strongly, the 
advantages of it If you be Christians at all, you wish 



208 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

to be genuine Christians. As you have a nature, 
which, though constitutionally capable of religion, is 
conditionally averse from it, through sin, and therefore 
needs to be saved: you wish it to be saved as soon as 
possible, and as completely as possible. As " Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners" — as he is the 
only Mediator between God and men — therefore you 
accept him as your Mediator, rejecting every system 
which encourages the notion of any other mediation. 
As " Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," 
by shedding his blood in atonement for our offences, and as 
the efficacy of his mediation so plainly depends on the 
sufficiency of this atonement — therefore you accept this 
atonement as the ground of your justification in the 
sight of God, rejecting every system which presumes to 
substitute, or add, any other expiation ; or which, on the 
other hand, denies the necessity of an expiation. As 
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," by 
preparing the way, also, for the communication of the 
Holy Spirit, to follow up the general work of atonement 
by the special work of personal salvation ; regenerating 
and sanctifying, comforting and strengthening, the 
individual believer — therefore you accept, and diligently 
improve, this spiritual visitation and agency, rejecting 
every system which dishonors the Spirit by an over- 
valuation of forms and ceremonies, or which, in any 
way, disallows or makes light of this grace. As " Christ. 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners," by preparing 
the way also, through the sanctification of the soul, 
first, for the reception of the soul itself, after death, 
into heavenly felicity; secondly, for the resurrection 
of the body, in immortal adaptation to the utmost 
capacities and susceptibilities of the soul ; and, thirdly, 
for the enthronement of the whole redeemed and per- 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 209 

fected nature at the right hand of God, in all the 
beauty, and glory, and bliss of his image and likeness — 
therefore, you accept this sublime contemplation as 
your proper hope and real destiny, infinitely wonderful 
as it is; rejecting, with God-like superiority, every 
system which comes short of it. 

Being thus professors of Christianity, as a religion 
in all respects worthy of your acceptation ; confiding in 
the mediation of Christ Jesus ; realizing the justifying 
merits of his blood and the sanctifying power of his 
spirit ; enjoying, in a word, the present salvation from 
sin — how happy is your condition, and with what a 
chorus of welcomes and raptures, eternity hails your 
approach to the vision and bosom of God. 

"All things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or 
Cephas" — whether the Church, in whole — u or the world, 
or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; all 
are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is G-od's" 

For you, the angel of history descends upon the 

mist-covered mountains of the past, radiant as the 

rainbow which waved its wings on the retiring gloom 

of the deluge : and shows the progress of Providence, 

from the time of the joyful concert of all the stars over 

the beauty of Eden, to the humble opening of our own 

era, by the dewy and silent light of the single star that 

trembled with wonder over the manger of Bethlehem. 

All that God has done, was done, in part, for you. 

You see, you feel, your interest in all. For you, the 

natural world has changed so often. For your restraint, 

the curse smoked, the flood surged, and the local agents 

of current evil were first set in action. For you, the 

social world has varied its forms so often. For your 

encouragement, the Saviour was announced as soon as 

sin had occurred. For you, the offering of Abel was 

14 



210 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

"accepted;" and that of Cain, "rejected." For you, 
Seth and his children began again "to call upon the 
name of the Lord." For you, "Enoch walked with 
God" on earth, and went with God to heaven. For 
you, Noah prepared the ark; and the last "preacher 
of righteousness" in the old world became the first 
builder of an altar in the new. For you, Abraham 
forsook his home and country, and "went out, not 
knowing whither he went." For you, Joseph was 
taken down into Egypt, as a lonely captive ; and Moses 
marched back to Canaan, as the princely leader of 
emancipated millions. For you, the law was proclaimed, 
in thunders of justice, from the darkness of Sinai; and 
was succeeded by the oracle of mercy, soft and sweet, 
breathing from the light of the Shekinah, in the Holy 
of Holies. For you, the tabernacle of the wilderness, 
and the rustling tents around it, and the hot and barren 
sands around them — were exchanged for the temple on 
Moriah, the palaces on Zion, and the shadowy fullness 
of the land that flowed with milk and honey. For 
you, the judges ruled, the kings reigned, the priests 
ministered at the altar, the poets struck their harps, 
and the prophets blew their trumpets. For you, above 
all, in due time — "Cheist Jesus came into the would 
to save sinners." For you, the Apostles then went 
forth into all the world, to declare the faithful saying, 
and urge its acceptance upon every creature. For you, 
the Holy Spirit came down upon them in Jerusalem ; 
and accompanied them, in divinest wisdom and power, 
to the ends of the earth. For you, the churches multi- 
plied, suffered, and triumphed. For you, the fathers 
taught, and the martyrs died. For you, Judaism waned, 
and Heathenism perished. For you, in the ages of 
apostacy, the church in the wilderness waited on God. 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 211 

For you, the reformers arose, and struggled, and con- 
quered. For you, WiclifT and Huss, and Luther, and 
Zwingli, and Calvin, and Cranmer, and "Wesley, and 
"Whitefield, and Brewster, and Williams, and Edwards, 
and Dwight, and Davies, and Mason, and Asbury, and 
Snethen, and Duncan — and the thousands of recent 
friends of God, and our own friends, whose images, as 
we thus speak, sparkle out in our memories, like stars 
in the twilight sky — for you, they preached and prayed, 
they toiled and wept, they languished in death, and 
ascended to immortality. Ay, all the past is yours; 
from the beginning until now; all yours, and yours 
forever. And not only what God has thus accomplished 
in the visible world. That is but a fragment of the 
past. Oh! think of the invisible world! What 
has God wrought there, in six thousand years ! Doubt- 
less, the scheme of redemption has been more efficient 
there, than here : for there have assembled all who have 
hence departed ! Oh ! what a multitude ! — millions on 
millions, thousands and myriads of millions ! Christ 
Jesus came into the world, to secure them grace ; and 
has gone back from the world, to crown them with 
glory ! With what delight, he surveys them ! What 
mansions he has prepared for them ! How munificently 
he entertains them ! And yet, all are yours. For you, 
Christ has redeemed them ! For you, he has assembled 
them ! For you, he has endowed them ! There is not 
one in all the host, in whom you have not some interest : 
and in a few — ah ! who could tell your interest ! Weep 
not, brother ! weep not, sister ! All are God's ; all are 
Christ's; and all are yours ! 

But, the past is not all. For you, the angel of 
observation descends upon the mist-covered mountains 
of the present, radiant with a subtler light than that 



212 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

of the cloudless sun at highest noon, and illumines the 
forms of nature and society, as they hang darkly before 
us — changing the vast obscure into a brilliant diorama, 
all glittering with the designs of Almighty goodness, 
and significant of vindications of his government, 
which men and angels shall yet exult to see. For you, 
Nature throws open her stores: affirming that those 
who are most grateful to God, enjoy his blessings the 
most. For you, the day is brighter, and the night 
calmer. For you, the week has an easier task, and the 
Sabbath a stiller rest. For you, the moon bends a surer 
bow, and rounds a safer shield. For you, the sun gives 
a greater variety and richness to the seasons : the winter 
is more cheerful, the spring more green and gay, the 
summer more golden and full, the autumn more purple 
and glad. For you, childhood and youth have gone 
by, with less regret; maturity has brought more 
wisdom ; and old age approaches with a warmer wel- 
come. For you, besides, Society opens its stores. For 
you, Art multiples its improvements ; and Science, its 
discoveries. For you, Philosophy develops its confir- 
mations of right; and Government engages in its 
ameliorations of wrong. For you, Religion concen- 
trates and diffuses its inestimable blessings: blesses 
your first birth, and your second birth ; blesses your 
water baptism, and your spiritual baptism; blesses 
your marriage, and your offspring ; blesses your busi- 
ness, and your worship ; blesses your walks of useful- 
ness, and your well-springs of happiness ; blesses your 
identification with its institutions, at home and abroad, 
and your contemplation of their successes and hopes. 
For you, the Church fills Christendom with the call of 
bells, and the response of congregations. For you, 
the agents of the Bible, and Missionary, Tract, and 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 213 

Sunday School Boards, kindle the altars of holiness on 
the coasts of Pagan pollution ; and swing among the 
inland haunts of crime, the golden censers of truth, 
all glowing with the fire and smoking with the perfume 
of a Saviour's love. For you, in a word, the natural 
and social ruins of sin, are everywhere covered with 
the glory of heaven ; and the downward path of the 
light is the upward path of your spirits to the world 
where sin is unknown. 

But, the past and the present are not all. For you, 
the angel of pkophecy — radiant as the rainbow of the 
Apocalypse, whose emerald softness embellishes heaven 
with the prevailing tint of the earth renewed — descends 
upon the mist-covered mountains of the future, and re- 
veals the consummations of redemption, in the ultimate 
grandeur and bliss of the city and kingdom of God. 
For you, death throws off his disguise as the king of 
terrors, and appears in his true character, as the 
messenger of Christ, and the harbinger of rest. Like 
a rosy-cheeked youth from Paradise, with a fresh- 
gathered tuft of heart' s-ease half hidden in his bosom ; 
with the dews of the night on his sandals, and the 
light of the morning in his eyes ; with the fragrance 
of blossoms in his breath, and the music of birds in 
his voice ; with the names of your friends on his tongue, 
and their biddings of love in his song; — all caroling 
forth, he will come to meet you, as you reach the end 
of the desert, and gently conduct your weary feet to 
the gate of the Pilgrim's repose. The grave — the 
grave — the dreaded grave ! aye, that is the gate of the 
Pilgrim's repose. For you, its pillared portico shall 
be newly twined and festooned with vines and wreaths 
from u the place where" Jesus "lay:" and the cheer- 
ful lodge shall be hung all round with the smiling 



214 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

portraits of the loved and blest, whose foot-prints shine 
in all the course before you. Nay, more — you shall 
find themselves again : shall see their own sweet faces, 
and hear their own sweet voices, as they catch the 
tidings of your coming, and hasten from every "way 
of pleasantness," and from every "path of peace," to 
clasp you again, and re-claim you forever, and lead you, 
with garlands of gladness and anthems of praise, to 
the palace and presence of Infinite Love. For you, in 
countless addition to these, the saints of all time survive 
in eternity. The patriarchs, of the first dispensation, 
the prophets, of the second, and the apostles, of the 
third — are all united there. They preceded you on 
earth, to encourage your faith; they await you in 
heaven, to honor your fidelity. For you, their illustri- 
ous circles expand: for you, their god-like gifts and 
glorious opportunities have been so long and so greatly 
improved : and the splendor of their perfections shall 
heighten the beauty of your own. For you, in count- 
less addition to these, the whole hierarchy of angels 
retain their lofty estate. All of them often have min- 
istered to the world; many of them, doubtless, have 
ministered to you. Though sinless themselves, they 
sympathize with the Saviour of sinners, and delight to 
serve his disciples. For you, they held their thrones, 
and wore their crowns, and waved their scepters, before 
the earth was framed. For you, they were made wit- 
nesses of the process of creation — and treasure its 
memories still. For you, they were made agents in 
the development of providence — and treasure its memo- 
ries still. For you, their early desires to look into the 
mystery of redemption were at last allowed; and, so 
far as it has yet been unfolded, they treasure its 
memories still. For you, the cherubim shine with 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 215 

wisdom; and for you, the seraphim flame with love. 
For you, the morning stars still sing together ; and for 
you, the sons of God still shout for joy. For you, like 
the saints, they all rise up from afar ; and never a brow 
among them will blush to meet you, but every heart 
beat high with honest and earnest welcome. There, 
once arrived, your position so pre-eminently exalted, 
and your facilities for observation so vastly increased — 
for you, the ancient and complex arrangements of 
Providence shall renew their progress, and hasten, in 
ampler and clearer vision, toward their final and stu- 
pendous issues. For you, in like manner, the widely 
distributed energies of redemption, completing the 
encompassment of the globe, shall press with concen- 
trate and resistless force on all their destined objects. 
For you, Christ Jesus himself — having once come 
into the world, to atone for sin : and then returned to 
his Father, to intercede for sinners : shall conclude his 
priestly mediation, and come forth in his royal power. 
For you, his hosts shall form in the sky, and Hash to 
the ends of the earth. For you, the voice of his will — ■ 
the universe shall thrill. For you, he shall magnify 
his goodness, wisdom, and might, in the resurrection 
of the dead, the judgment of the world, and the opening 
of the righteous dispensation of life everlasting. "What 
then shall succeed, no tongue may reveal. Greater 
wonders of creation, than ever angels have witnessed ; 
greater wonders of Providence, than ever saints have 
known; and greater results of redemption, than either 
or both have ever imagined — may all be involved in 
the inheritance of " things to come." Let them come — 
they will come from God, and be like God, and lead 
to God. Let them come — for "all are yours; and ye 
are Christ's; and Christ is God's." 



216 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

And now — Christian brethren ! pardon rne, if, after 
doing my best to intimate your bliss, I still fall short 
of it. You have found a religion that is worthy of your 
acceptation, and have accepted it. How worthy your 
religion : how happy yourselves — I may often attempt, 
but must always despair to tell. 

And what now? Can I close without a word to 
those who are yet without religion ? Oh ! how is this, 
my friends !■ — how do you account for this ? 

Do you not acknowledge that our nature is religious ? 
Do you not acknowledge that our religious capacity is 
the chief distinction of our nature? Do you not 
acknowledge that it is our duty and interest to cultivate 
this capacity? Nay — do you not acknowledge that 
this is our highest duty — our highest interest ? Certainly, 
you agree with us in these things. What, then, is the 
difficulty ? Is not the world full of religions ? Why, 
then, do you not embrace some one of them, and 
comply with its requirements ? 

Methinks you answer — True, the world is full of 
religions, but there is not one of them worthy of my 
acceptance! Is this your answer? And is it true? 
Then, I grant you, notwithstanding all your constitu- 
tional indications, you cannot be justly reproached for 
living and dying without religion. No religion, un- 
worthy your acceptance, can be properly urged upon 
you. Neither would it be of any advantage to you, to 
imitate some of the present race of French philosophers, 
and invent a religion for yourselves. You could not 
invent a religion that would be worthy of your devotion. 
Religion must be revealed by the God to whom it 
would bind us — or it is of no worth. 

Nay, I go further — I grant you, that all the religions 
in the world, except one, are unworthy of your accept- 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 217 

ance ! I grant you that all forms of Fetichism are the 
absurdities and cruelties of the most miserable savage 
degradation. I grant you, that Magianism is a meagre 
idolatry ; and that Boodhism and Brahminism are foul 
and disgusting abominations. I grant you, that 
Mohammedanism is a gross perversion and base impos- 
ture. But who solicits you to the disgrace of accepting 
either of these ? 

Yet see — Is there not a religion in the world instantly 
perceived to be infinitely different from these ? Is not 
Christianity divinely separate from all, and divinely 
superior to all? Is not the Gospel the very grace of 
God, and the very glory of God? Is it not "a faithful 
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
came into the world to save sinners?" Is not this a 
genuine revelation? And is it not, therefore, worthy 
of your acceptation ? 

Alas ! for the increase of Infidelity ! Is it right to 
mention it? Who can conceal it? Moreover, we 
ought to be put on our guard. Thus it has been from 
the beginning. At its first announcement, Christianity 
was styled "a cunningly devised fable." Even then, 
to the Jews it was "a stumbling block, and to the 
Greeks foolishness." Up rose the whole world to put 
down this petty superstition. "You are crazy!" — • 
said the Jews. "You are fools!" — said the Gentiles. 
But the disciples remembered the words of Jesus : — ■ 
"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good 
pleasure to give you the kingdom." So they prayed 
on; and sang on; and preached on ; "with the spirit," 
"and with the understanding also," until, in part at 
least, the kingdom was given unto them : not the king- 
dom of Judea alone, or of Greece alone, or of Eome 
alone, but the empire of all. In part, I say, for all 



218 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

that was gained at first, or has since been gained, or 
is now in whole possessed, is only a part of that which 
the promise included. "Nevertheless" — said He who 
gave the promise, and foresaw its progress to fulfill- 
ment — "when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find 
faith on the earth?" Verily, the greater the infidelity 
of the world, the stronger should be the faith of the 
Church ! 

What then? On all hands, this is confessed: The 
great question is — Christianity, or Atheism? The 
Bible, or no revelation at all? Our God — or no 
God ! Our Saviour — or no Saviour ! Our religion — or 
no religion ! How will you decide it ? Come ! this 
is no time for indecision. The hosts are marshaling 
for the greatest battle of time — the struggle which is 
to determine the destinies of eternity. On which side 
will you take your stand? "Will you reject the Gospel, 
as unworthy of your acceptation ? Will you surrender 
your asserted interest in all its connexions with the 
past, the present, and the future f Will you give up 
its G-od, as a phantom ; its Saviour, as a myth ; and its 
Heaven, as a dream ? Will you give up your family, 
as mere shadows; and your soul, as a breath of air? 
Will you content yourself to say, in your dying hour — 
"I have no hope of ever seeing again, any who have gone 
before me, or any I leave behind me! I am just about to 
drop into the nothingness from which I so strangely 
came!" Are you ready for all this? If so — on what 
warrant ? Do you think it can be trusted ? Are you 
sure it ought to be trusted? Is it the verdict of the 
wisest, and purest, and happiest, and most useful, of 
our race ? If not — if, on the contrary it be the fact, 
as remarkable as it is gratifying, that all such — th< 
choicest exemplars of mankind — have deemed the 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 219 

Gospel " worthy of all acceptation," and therefore 
accepted it themselves; can it be unworthy of your 
acceptance? How came you from nothing? Is it 
enough to say, that you came strangely? — or that you 
know not how you came ? Are you sure that there is 
not a God ? Are you sure that he did not create you ? 
And if God made you the something you were before 
you were born: and has made you the nobler some- 
thing you have become since that infinitesimal begin- 
ning — are you sure that he did not design, that he 
does not even yet desire, that you may become some- 
thing infinitely nobler still? — ay, all that the blessed 
Gospel so sublimely contemplates ? If you admit his 
existence at all, you cannot deny his power : why, then, 
should you distrust his love? Behold! what he has 
done for your natural life ! What a world he has given 
for your habitation ! "What continents to nourish you ! 
What oceans to refresh you ! What skies to inspire 
you! What a sun, to glorify your days! What a 
moon, to relieve your nights! What a magnificent 
expanse of multitudinous stars, to enlarge your thought, 
and command your admiration ! And what society he 
has given you ! What a family, to love you ! What 
friends, to cheer you ! What a galaxy of glittering 
incitements in the splendid civilization around you, to 
elevate your aims, and refine your pursuits! What 
arts, to adorn you! What sciences, to enrich you! 
What a literature, to instruct you! What a govern- 
ment, to protect you ! What an interchange of nations, 
to multiply your securities and comforts ! And what 
now ? What is the meaning of this natural life, if there 
be no spiritual life ? — if there be no eternal life ? And 
if the higher life be provided for by means excelling 
those of the lower : still more divinely wonderful than 



220 THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 

the whole preceding material display : why should this 
occasion cavil f If wrong exist — and who can deny it ? — 
if wrong be sin — and who can deny it? — if sin bring 
ruin — and who can deny it ? — then why should not God, 
who has magnified his power by strewing immensity 
with suns and systems, illustrate his love by sending 
u Christ Jesus into the world, to save sinners?" "What 
though the Redeemer was "the brightness of the 
Father's glory, and the express image of his person" — 
what though, " being in the form of God, he thought 
it not robbery to be equal with God:" nay, more, 
what though his humiliation involved the awful myste- 
ries of the weeping blood of Gethsemane, and the 
shuddering darkness of Calvary: who can deny that 
the sacrifice, great as it was, was justified by the certain 
and endless recompense ? Where so much is done, for 
the subsistence of the body— what should not be done, 
for the salvation of the soul ? Oh ! sooner let me lose 
my vision of creation, than lose my faith in redemp- 
tion ! Sooner let all the sepulchral systems in the 
universe- — deceptively luminous as they are, if the 
Gospel be not true— whirl into the darkness and dis- 
solve in the oblivion of nonentity, than the Angel of 
Immortality forsake her station at the cross of Christ .! 
Far better would it have been, had I remained the 
nothing that I was ; than, having become the something 
that I am, to be now despoiled of my growing hopes, 
and remanded again to my origin ! O Thou who hast 
given me life, let it not fail to prove life eternal! 
Mine — now : lo ! I cling to it forever ! — cling to my 
consciousness, cling to my family, cling to my friends, 
cling to my race, cling to the universe, cling, above 
all, to Thee ! — Thou who art life ! my Saviour and 
Sanctifier, my Father and God ! Surely this saying is 



THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL. 221 

a faithful saying : this religion is the true religion ! 
Surely it is "worthy of all acceptation !" Surely, my 
friends ! yet out of Christ — without God and without 
hope in the world — this religion is worthy of your 
acceptation! Who among you will now accept it! 
"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the 
day of salvation V 



A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 



" Glory to God." — Luke ii: 14. 

I divest myself of sensation. I withdraw myself 
even from the organs of intellect, sentiment and affec- 
tion. I abstract myself entirely from my physical 
constitution. I throw myself as a pure spirit into 
the original condition of immensity and eternity. God 
alone is there. I commune with him — spirit with 
spirit. I learn that he desires to share his infinite 
felicity with other consciousness than his own; and 
that his perfections have composed a theory of creation. 
What that theory is, I am not informed ; but am satis- 
fied that whenever it shall be disclosed it will glitter 
with all the insignia of his own sovereign distinctions. 

Eesuming my natural sympathies with the universe, 
I hold it in contemplation. I see its throne. God is 
on it. A heaven-full of cherubim and seraphim shine 
and sing around it. Beyond heaven, innumerable and 
magnificent systems of suns, comets, planets, and satel- 
ites, map off the darkness with golden lines of silent 
glory, and fill up the vacuum with the pulse, and 
thought, and action of life everlasting. The genius of 
the Mind of minds has made itself creative ; the theory 
of eternity is embodied in time ; and while God with- 
holds not a smile at the faithfulness of the mirror 

(222) 



A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 223 

before him, the mirror kindles with still more glowing 
beauty, reflecting his smile and the bliss by which it 
is brightened. 

I look again. The pavilion of God is closed, and 
his throne is shaded within its folds. At the sight, the 
multitude of worshippers suspend their praise. There 
is silence in heaven. The fellowship of anxiety pre- 
vails. Soon they descry afar off a returning host. As 
they come nearer, they are seen to consist of two orders. 
In one, every brow is crowned, and every crown 
adorned with a single star. In the other, a royal 
breast-plate gleams on every purple robe. They are 
the Morning Stars and the Sons of God. They went 
out to witness the creation of a world. As it rose, they 
welcomed it with ecstatic music. They saw it perfected ; 
saw it filled with living things ; saw its paradise planted 
and burst into bloom; saw the manly majesty and 
womanly beauty of its wedded rulers ; spent the first 
Sabbath with them, and exulted in its holiness and 
bliss. But now they come, sad that they went. As 
they alight upon their native landscape, and fold their 
plumes among the myriads that gather around them, 
they tell the story of sin and death ! — The whole mul- 
titude turn toward the throne, and wonder no more 
that the folds of the pavilion are drawn closely 
around it. 

Touched with a desire to behold the scene of guilt, 
and the parties involved in it, I leave the centre of 
creation and tend toward its circumference. I find a 
new system, and less magnificent than many I have 
passed. I alight upon its sun, and survey its comets, 
planets, and satellites. The planets are divided into 
three classes- Those in the first and remotest class are 
comparatively of great size, and beautifully adorned — 



224 A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 

one with belts, another with rings; one with four 
moons, another with six, another with seven. Those 
in the second and middle class are very small. The 
fonr in the third and nearest class are larger than the 
latter, but not one of them is even a tenth part as large 
as the largest of the first class. In this nearest class, 
I find the one I seek. It is the third from the sun, 
and moves along its orbit attended by a single moon. 
I descend upon it, and stand on a hill overlooking 
paradise. The garden of the Lord has not yet lost its 
loveliness, though its sinful tenants, ashamed and sor- 
rowful, hide themselves in its deepest shadows. 

I commune with my own thoughts. What is such 
a world as this, and who are these its occupants, that, 
for any thing done here, the hallelujahs of heaven 
should be hushed, and the throne of the universe be 
darkened ? I am overwhelmed by the realization of 
the infinite holiness and sensibility of the divine law. 
There is no point in immensity where the finger of sin 
can touch it, without that touch being felt by him who 
ordained it. But why is it not avenged ? Even as a 
bubble on one of its own streams, so might such a 
world dissolve and vanish. Why does it not? Ah 
me ! I feel the cause. Those timid criminals, trembling 
in the shade, have been quickened into immortality by 
the breath of God; and there is not an archangel in 
heaven whose spirit shall not fail with age as soon as 
theirs. Nor only so : but those same fugitives are the 
representatives of innumerable millions of immortalities 
like themselves — enough, if they should be finally 
translated to heaven, to make it necessary to employ 
ages in preparing mansions to receive them. What 
now? Who shall terminate this awful suspense — and 
how shall it close ? 



A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 225 

I return whence I came. The cherubim and sera- 
phim still stand, in adoring silence, in the strange 
twilight. But lo ! the pavilion opens — and all is glory ! 
A feeling of intenser love comes with it, exciting a 
rarer rapture. The Angel of the Lord appears at the 
right hand of the divine Presence. He announces the 
adoption of a plan of redemption — the necessity of 
sacrifice to the accomplishment of the plan — the ina- 
bility of any less than himself to make the sacrifice — 
and his own assumption of the obligation, to be dis- 
charged in due time. He summons the Morning Stars 
and the Sons of God to attend him again; commands 
the resumption of worship by the multitude left before 
the throne, and comes away on his mission of mercy 
to this far-off sphere of sin. "With the noblest burst 
of music that heaven ever heard still seeming to follow. 
I come with them, and hover in the midst of the holy 
train, while the angel of the Lord himself descends to 
the garden, calls the sinners before him, gives law to 
their changed estate, intimates the scheme of salvation, 
and sends them forth from their forfeited inheritance, 
to engage in toil, endure pain, and hopefully await the 
performance of his promise. 

The Angel and his retinue re-ascend. I remain to 

see the influence of the first death. Men multiply. 

Sins multiply. Sorrows multiply. All the good of 

the former estate perishes. As some noble tree, in the 

autumn, feels its life returning to the soil from which 

it rose in the spring, and sees its foliage withering and 

falling from its branches, till, one by one, they are all 

stripped and bare, so the spiritual life of man returns 

to its source in the Godhead, and all his beauty and 

glory fades and dies. The tree is not hopeless. 

Another spring may warm its life up again, through 

15 



226 A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 

every branch, and into every twig, and cover it all over 
with leaves, and blossoms, and frait. And so, man is 
not hopeless. Redemption may hereafter invest him 
with fairer and richer felicities than he knew at first. 
But, for the present, he perishes. Intellect dies : reason, 
judgment, memory, imagination, knowledge, wisdom, 
truth, all die. Sentiment dies : gratitude, benevolence, 
honor, courage, virtue, conscience, all die. Affection 
dies: love, friendship, joy, peace, all die. Ignorance, 
like that of the brute, prevails. All notion of the mag- 
nificence of the universe is lost. Even the magnitude 
of the earth is not suspected. Men deem it a small 
plain ; the sky above it a solid dome ; and sun, moon, 
and stars a set of interchanging lamps. But not only 
is all proper notion of the works of God lost: God 
himself is not in all their thoughts. They have a 
dreamy remembrance of something divine ; but know 
not whether it is one or many, little or great, or where 
or how it is to be found. They seek it in the objects 
around them, even inferior to themselves. They think 
they see it in the eye of a beast, in the coil of a reptile, 
in the wing of a bird, in the color of a plant — and so 
worship these. Meantime, the passions of the brute 
awake to confirm and aggravate this ignorance. Glut- 
tony, lust, jealousy, murder; and, with these, vices of 
which brutes know nothing — drunkenness, cursing, 
lying, covetousness fraud, slavery, war, and a thousand 
others. In the midst of all, a little spiritual life is 
preserved — like an evergreen, with a waste of wintry 
snow around it. I see a venerable patriarch, here and 
there, who builds an altar to the true God, and lays 
his offering on it. An angel descends, stands by the 
altar, blesses the worshipper, touches the offering with 
heavenly fire, and ascends with the flame. The patri- 



A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 227 

arch learns much of God — his will, ways, works, and 
designs ; but still all is confined within the apparent 
littleness of the circle of the senses. To him, the sky 
is simply God's palace ; there is his throne ; thence he 
looks to the ends of the earth, or, from horizon to 
horizon; the lightning is the glance of his eye, the 
thunder is the utterance of his voice, the cloud is his 
chariot, and the winds are his steeds. So near is he, 
at all times, that he not only sees every sacrifice that 
is made to him, but smells the savor of it, as it rises 
from the altar. Therefore, too, he so easily hears and 
answers prayer. 

Time passes. All the life left on earth is enclosed 
in an ark. There it burns, brightly but gently, with a 
world of wild waters around it, striving to quench it. 
But God dries the top of a mountain, sanctifies it as 
an altar, puts the living fire on it, hangs the rainbow 
over it, and smiles to see how the waters rush down 
and away from its kindling and spreading glory, and 
gather their waves forever within impassable bounds. 

Other ages pass. Men multiply again. Sins multi- 
ply again. Sorrows multiply again. Intellect, senti- 
ment, affection, die again. Yet, here and there, in 
the withered wilderness, a true altar is raised, and the 
fire from heaven again descends upon it. Ere long, a 
nation of slaves, whose chains melted from their forms 
at the flash of an angel's eye, and who marched over a 
path of pearl through the valley of the sea, between 
mountains shining all through like crystal, pitch their 
camp in the shadow of a desert cliff, and see that same 
pavilion which was folded round the throne of the 
universe, in the hour of heaven's strange twilight and 
hushed hallelujahs, borne by the Morning Stars and 
Sons of God, and rested, with its fullness of inner glory, 



228 A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 

amidst the trumpetings and shoutings of the whole 
host, on the trembling summit. They see their leader 
enter the pavilion with the pale face of a man, and 
come out again with a countenance glowing like a God. 
He hears in his hand a law written by the fingers of 
him who dwells within those sacred folds. They make 
a tabernacle, according to the pattern shown in the 
mount, and the priests bear it from station to station, 
for forty years, under the angel's watching, till Jordan 
pauses to let it pass, and Zion rises up to receive it, 
and Lebanon bows in homage from afar ; and the great 
sea, turning its billows and foam into gold and gems, 
in the smile of the setting sun, rolls its tribute along 
the coast from Syria to Egypt, and kneels and kisses 
the soil which is hallowed from shore to shore by the 
presence of the Shekinah and the tribes of the chosen. 

Other ages pass. The temple shines on Moriah. 
The sky above it gleams with prophetic visions. The 
land around it blooms with symbolic blessings and 
smokes with symbolic curses. The rocks, groves, and 
streams ; the palaces, cottages and tents, are all alive 
with the bugles of faith, the harps of hope, the lutes of 
love, and the timbrels of salvation. The thrill is felt 
in other lands. A gush of expectation is felt at the 
heart, and pulsates to the extremities of the world. 

Four thousand years have rolled away. Many gen- 
erations of millions on millions have led an animal life, 
and fallen, with the beasts, into the grave. Some 
spiritual life has kept the world from growing quite 
cold; and, besides this, there is hope of redemption. 
The promise given in Eden is on record yet. But why 
is it not fulfilled ? 

Again, I leave this little, lower world. I pass Venus, 
pass Mercury, pass the sun, pass the orbit of Mercury 



A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 229 

again, and of Venus, and of the earth, and of Mars, 
and of the Asteroids, and of Jupiter, and Saturn, and 
Uranus; pass other systems, thousands on thousands, 
still tending to the centre and balance of the universe. 
I reach heaven. I see the Angel of the Lord again, 
with a farewell suffusion in his eyes, but a smile of joy 
on his lips. Though "in the form of God," and 
thinking it "not robbery to be equal with God," and 
with the whole host of glory in adoring homage before 
him, there is something nearer and dearer to his heart 
than all the grandeur of his filial estate. His promise 
is the brightest jewel in his breast-plate; and is only 
excelled by the love which burns behind it. He sees 
from the throne what no other vision can discern, the 
humble dwelling-place of man. And the appointed 
time is near for his advent and sacrifice. Solemnity, 
such as was never felt before, oppresses heaven. In 
the universal stillness, if a single harp-string should 
snap, the sound would jar the throne. He alone may 
break such silence. I hear his voice divine. All 
orders are permitted to attend him. When they 
approach the earth, order after order is to descend 
and ascend, offering him worship — but quietly and 
unseen. One company only, the Sons of God, with 
Michael, the archangel of power, at their head, may 
announce his coming to a few shepherds. Another, 
the Morning Stars, with Gabriel, the archangel of 
wisdom, at their head, may lead a few sages to his 
presence by the light of a single star. 

I wait not to witness the solitude of heaven, but 
rather leave the procession to complete its arrangements, 
and hasten again to the earth. 

The world is at peace. The decree of a Roman 
prince is abroad in Judea. The people are gathering 



230 A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 

together in the cities to which they belong. I repair 
to Bethlehem. Though the least of the cities of Judah, 
it is honored as the birth-place of David, and cherished 
as the chosen of David's greater Son. Already it is 
crowded. Every street, and court, and roof, and the 
hill-side around is thronged. I look upon its multitude, 
and think — Oh how will they feel when the coming 
Messiah, advancing beyond his invisible host, shall 
shine on their towers, and alight in their midst ! The 
sun sets. The cool of the evening causes the throng 
to retire to their shelters. The twilight lingers about 
the gates. 

I pass through. I seek a rest at the inn. It is full. 
I hear of two strangers who have spent several days in 
the stable. If good enough for them, it is good enough 
for me. I enter the same retreat. I find it full of 
parental solicitude. The noble countenance of the 
man is softened with a heart-full of tenderness. The 
pale face of the young mother is inexpressibly serene, 
with a holy and wonderful beauty. Her bed is but 
straw; and in a manger, laid close beside her, sleeps 
her babe, but a few hours old. Young as it is, that 
babe has a heavenly smile ; but the mother is still the 
most attractive. There is a dignity in her mien that 
awes me, and a spirit which it seems as if nothing 
could surprise or overcome. Yet, as she bends her 
calm eyes on her smiling son, she wears a look of 
devotion and praise. 

I soon learn their story. They have come from 
Nazareth, from the hills of Galilee, overlooking the 
plain of Esdrelon; by Tabor and Gilboa, and the 
mountains of Samaria; between Ebal and Gerizim; 
by Jacob's well ; and by Jerusalem — a long and weary 
way. And now, though both of the lineage of David, 
and in the city of their renowned ancestor, and under 



A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 231 

circumstances of so much interest, they are happy to 
find a refuge from the careless crowd around them 
among the beasts of the stall. 

But who are these? Shepherds! whence do ye 
come ? They answer not ; but kneel by the manger, 
and worship the babe ! They rise with his heavenly 
smile reflected in their own. They tell of a visit of 
angels ; first one. then many, with visions of glory and 
chantings of praise and peace. I tremble with fear. 
Where, then, is the Angel of the Lord ? While yet the 
night lingers, other footsteps draw near. Sages ! who 
and whence are ye ? They answer not. Like Moses, 
they take off their sandals, breathing only — This is 
holy ground! They, too, kneel by the manger, and 
worship the babe. With tears in their eyes, they spread 
their gifts before him — gold, and frank-incense, and 
myrrh. They, also, rise, with their tears turned into 
smiles. They tell how a star brought them from their 
far-off homes. I tremble more and more. What 
means this worship of the stranger's babe, and where 
yet is the Angel of the Lord? I step forth from the 
stable. I listen. All is still. The inn is hushed. 
The halls around are all hushed. I look up. I see 
the new star sparkling in the middle air, right over 
the stable. My natural vision seems clear as ever; 
but my spiritual vision has been dim ever since I saw 
the suffused countenance of the angel of the Lord, 
preparing to leave the throne of the universe. To 
think that he should make such a sacrifice as to stoop 
to the earth for a kingdom, and resign the government 
of angels for the redemption of men, was more than 
my spirit could bear. But still less can I bear the 
burden of this mystery. Has he come ? Where, then, 
does he hide the greatness of his power? God of the 
servant of thy servant Elisha, open thou mine eyes ! 



232 A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 

My vision returns. That star-light ! See ! It 
shines on the forehead of Gabriel, standing on his 
watch as he stood erewhile at the throne ! Lo ! The 
Morning Stars are arrayed beside him, and extend their 
train far behind him. Lo ! Michael stands opposite, 
with all the Sons of God in their purple robes and 
royal breast-plates. Behold ! how, between their ranks, 
order after order of the whole heavenly host descend 
and ascend, to worship the babe. I tremble still ; but 
doubt no more. I sink by the manger, and thrill 
while I see that the same suffused light, and the same 
glad smile that were blended in the countenance of the 
angel of the Lord, gleams in the eyes and glows on 
the lips of the infant Jesus ! 

"Sweetest name on mortal's tongue, 
Sweetest note in angel's song, 
Sweetest carol ever sung, 

Jesus! Jesus!" 

Yet, was it not sacrifice enough to exchange the 
throne of heaven for the throne of earth? Why this 
deeper humiliation ? How shall he rise now ? Earthly 
sovereignty is divided. A thousand petty princes sway 
their scepters here. How shall he reach even the 
palace of Zion ? And, if this be hard, how shall he 
displace Csesar, and win the supremacy of the world ? 

I see him as a boy ; wise indeed, and pure, but self- 
abased and gentle. 

I see him as a man ; wonderful in word and mighty 
in miracle, but still meek and lowly in heart, the com- 
panion of fishermen and publicans, outcast and poor; 
a citizen, but without a penny for tribute ; weary, but 
without a spot to lay his head ; hungry, and without a 
morsel of food. I see him opposed by demons; 
assailed by jealous and blood-thirsty men ; betrayed by 



A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 233 

one of his cherished friends ; conducted, with every 
method of insult, through a mock trial ; condemned, 
without the shadow of guilt, to the vilest and most 
painful of all modes of execution ; and led forth, with- 
out a murmur of complaint or an effort of resistance, 
bearing his cross, through a jeering mob, to the place 
of skulls. 

Again, I am confounded. What means this strange 
submission? Will there be a change presently, like 
that between the throne whence he came, and the 
manger where he lay ? "Will Calvary, as soon as his 
feet touch it, tower above Zion and Moriah ? Will the 
cross be turned into a shining seat of imperial power? 
Will the patriarchs and prophets be summoned from 
their graves, that he may reign in the midst of his 
ancients gloriously ? Will his enemies wither in his 
glance, and shrivel in the wrath of his frown ? Will 
all cities throw open their gates, and all princes come 
down from their thrones, and all nations send ambas- 
sadors in haste to conciliate his majesty with homage 
and praise? 

I see him step on Calvary, and not an atom trembles. 
I see him nailed to the wood. I see his upward look 
of pitying love, and hear his prayer — "Father, forgive 
them, they know not what they do!" I see him 
hanging, faint, in the noon-day darkness. I hear his 
last cry — "It is finished!" — and see his head fall upon 
his bosom in death! 

Sudden as the shock of the earthquake, my soul 
thrills with the truth. Quick as the rending of the 
vail of the temple, the veil upon my mind is parted, 
and the glory of God shines in upon it. 

I see that there was one sacrifice too great for Christ 
to make ! He was willing to leave the throne of the 



234 A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 

universe for the manger of Bethlehem; willing to 
grow up as the son of a poor carpenter ; willing to be 
called the Friend of publicans and sinners; willing to 
be watched with jealous eyes, and slandered by lying 
tongues, and hated by murderous hearts, and betrayed 
by friendly hands, and denied by pledged lips, and 
rejected by apostate priests, and a deluded populace, 
and cowardly princes ; willing to be sentenced to the 
cross, and to carry the cross, and be nailed to the cross, 
and bleed, and groan, and thirst, and die on the cross. 
But he was not willing to wear an earthly crown, or 
robe, or wield an earthly scepter, or exercise earthly 
rule. That would have been too great a sacrifice! 
He did, indeed, endure the crown of thorns, and the 
cast-off purple, and the reed, and the cry — "Hail! 
king of the Jews!" But this was merely because he 
'preferred the mockery to the reality ; so pouring infinite 
contempt on the one, not only by rejecting it in the 
beginning of his ministry, but, also, by accepting the 
other at its close. 

A god-like sacrifice ! I see it. I see it. The blood 
of Christ was an atonement for the sins of the world! 
"He was wounded for our transgressions, he was 
bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our 
peace was upon him ; and by his stripes we are healed !" 

I see it. His burial hallowed the tomb ; the breaking 
of the seal on his sepulchre, was the breaking of the 
seal on every sepulchre ; the ascension of his humanity 
to heaven is the warrant of our own ascension; and 
its entire and eternal perfection, exalted as it is, "far 
above all principality, and power, and might, and 
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in 
this world, but also in that which is to come," is the 
assurance of our own perfection, in all the honors of 



A CHEISTMAS SERMON. 235 

joint-heirship with him, in the many-ruansioned house 
of his Father, where he has gone "to prepare a place" 
for us. 

I look on heaven again. Instead of the Angel of the 
Lord, I see by the throne of the universe, Jesus, the 
babe of Bethlehem, the boy of Nazareth, the man of 
Calvary ! 

"While, long returned, the angels round him sing, 
And saints, yet coming, shout to see their king! " 

The saints! Who are they? "The spirits of the 
just made perfect" — redeemed from the earth! They 
who have "come up through much tribulation, and 
washed their robes and made them white in the blood 
of the Lamb." They who, in imitation of their Lord 
and Master, quickened into spiritual life, have cherished 
and manifested a readiness to sacrifice fame, rank, 
office, power, wealth, pleasure, ease, time, health, life — ■ 
everything but righteousness — for the one great cause 
of man's redemption ! 

Patriarchs! Prophets! Apostles! Martyrs! Confes- 
sors ! Reformers ! and millions of humble names scarce 
ever heard on earth beyond the hearth-stone of love, 
the threshold of home, and the courts of the house of 
the Lord, there unite with the first-born sons of glory 
in giving praise "to him that sitteth upon the throne 
and to the Lamb forever!" 

I see an immense multitude, around me, preparing 
for the same transit: 

"They all of sin were dupes and slaves, 
And rushing blind toward hopeless graves. 

"Then blew the trumpet of God's word! 
Then flashed the Spirit's two-edged sword ! 
They burst their bonds, their freedom won, 
And now toward heaven are marching on!" 



236 A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 

"We are enrolled with them. "We are pledged to the 
whole campaign! What thongh our foes are many? 
What though they are mighty? "Greater is he that 
is in us, than he that is in the world!" "Through 
Christ we can do all things." This is the victory that 
overcometh the world — even our faith! "All things 
are possible to him that believeth!" We can run 
through a troop, we can leap over a wall. "One shall 
chase a thousand, and two shall put ten thousand to 
flight!" Let the mightiest array be marshaled against 
us that ever was mustered by the Prince of Darkness, 
we fear not to meet them. Our friends are beyond 
them. Our kindred are beyond them. The saints are 
all beyond them. The angels are all beyond them. 
Christ is beyond them. God is beyond them. Heaven 
and eternal life are beyond them. And we will break 
through them. Shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, 
heart with heart, hand with hand, with our shields 
lapped and our swords ready, we will press and cut our 
way to glory ! 

The spirit of Abraham is in us. The spirit of Moses 
is in us. The spirit of Elijah is in us. The spirit of 
Paul is in us. The spirit of Luther is in us. The 
spirit of Wesley is in us. Like them, we are ready to 
give up all for Christ. Kay, the spirit of Christ is in 
us, and like him, we are ready even to be crucified for 
the cause ! 

It is well, brethren and friends, to be confident in 
the Lord — to be able to say, "I am persuaded, that 
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
able to separate us from the love of God, which is ii 
Christ Jesus our Lord." 



A CHRISTMAS SERMON. 237 

But, it is still better to be actually " faithful unto 
death," and then to be able to say — "I am now ready 
to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for 
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
righteous judge, shall give me at that day : and not to 
me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 

"Glory to God!" 



THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



"All scripture is given by inspiration of God." — 2 Tim. iii: 16. 

The dignity and value of the Scriptures essentially 
depend on their inspiration. Admit their inspiration, 
and they are instantly invested with inimitable glory 
and inestimable importance. But, decide that they are 
not inspired, and they assume at once the characteris- 
tics of a dazzling delusion: inculcating a splendid 
scheme of doctrines — but destitute of appropriate sanc- 
tions ; imposing a pure and beautiful system of duties — 
but without corresponding obligations; and exalting 
to rapture the hopes of the good, and quickening to 
horror the fears of the bad, by golden promises and 
iron threatenings, for which there is not, and cannot 
be, any just occasion. 

It is necessary, therefore, that the proofs of the in- 
spiration of the scriptures shall be generally understood : 
that the common faith in their divine origin may be 
intelligent and immovable, and the magnificent develop- 
ments they make, be sustained by supreme authority. 
It would be exceedingly presumptuous, however, to 
attempt a statement of all the evidence in the case in 
an hour's discourse. But, as even this brief interval 
may suffice for a condensed and popular view of some 
of its parts, I respectfully introduce the subject to your 
serious consideration. 

(238) 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 239 

Here, then, is a volume pre-eminently styled — the 
Bible. It is composed of sixty-six books. These are 
presented in two collections — the Old and New Testa- 
ments. The Old Testament contains thirty-nine books — 
comprising histories, laws, psalms, proverbs, and pro- 
phecies. The New Testament has twenty-seven books — 
narratives, epistles, and symbolical visions. More than 
forty persons, living in different ages and countries, 
were employed in the production of these works. 
Some of them are more than three thousand years old — 
much older than any other authentic records extant. 
The most recent of them were written more than 
seventeen hundred years ago. 

Taken as a whole, we affirm — that this is the Book 
or God : that, numerous as were the writers, different 
and distant as were the times and places in which they 
wrote, and various as are the subjects and the styles in 
which they are treated — " all scripture," in the language 
of the text, "is given by inspiration of God." 

What, then, is the nature of this inspiration ? The 
term is synonymous with — inbreathing. It imports 
some action of the Divine Spirit on the human spirit, 
corresponding with the breathing of air or life into a 
human body. In the account of the creation of Adam, 
it is said that "the Lord God breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living 
soul." In like manner, it is elsewhere written — " There 
is a spirit in man : and the inspiration of the Almighty 
giveth them understanding." So it is recorded of our 
Saviour, that "he breathed on the disciples, and said 
unto them, Beceive ye the Holy Ghost." It is to be 
supposed, of course, that the spiritual process, whatever 
it really is, is thus best described. This is the chosen 
word — inspiration. In the text, the action is limited 



240 THE INSPIRATION OF 

to the sacred authors, and involves, therefore, its 
nohlest relations, its highest degrees and forms. 

But, what is the character of this inspiration — the 
actual result of the process in the mind of its subject? 
The two main opinions are these: 1. That the 
Almighty communicated both thought and language : 
2. That he merely imparted the matter, leaving the 
writer to select his own mode of expression. 

The former opinion is here preferred: for it is ex- 
tremely difficult, if not impossible, to think without 
words ; and so, if God used not words, we would be at 
a loss to understand how he could convey thoughts. 
At most, we can conceive only one other way, that 
is — by visions ; but visions, instead of being commonly 
disclosed, were comparatively rare, and even they 
involved the interpretation of voices. 

In addition, however, to any merely philosophical 
views, we may notice certain peculiarities of the record 
itself as favoring the same sentiment. Among these 
are the following : — " Thus saith the Lord ;" and again, 
"The Lord said unto me;" and yet again, "For of a 
truth the Lord hath sent me unto you, to speak all 
these words in your ears." These passages prove that 
when God commissioned his prophets to speak to their 
contemporaries, he communicated his will in words; 
and hence it is highly probable that he did the same 
when he instructed them to write for posterity. 

But, although we deem this opinion the correct one, 
it is not necessary to insist upon it here. The question 
is one of inferior magnitude : and should not be allowed 
to embarrass the chief subject proposed for discussion. 
The attempt now is, not to determine the mode of 
inspiration, but, to establish the fact. 

That it is possible for God to inspire man cannot be 



THE SCRIPTURES. 241 

reasonably disputed. As our Creator, lie certainly and 
thoroughly understands our constitution: knows all 
the avenues by which the mind may be approached, 
and all the means by which it may be affected : and 
must be acknowledged as capable of making upon it 
any impression he may desire. How readily we com- 
municate knowledge to each other ! And surely, while 
our own spirits, shut up within separate and complicate 
fleshly investitures, possess so many and such great 
facilities for the interchange of ideas and emotions, it 
were absurd to suppose that God himself can afford us 
no revelations. 

But, it is not only possible for the Almighty to 
inspire mankind, it is probable that he did inspire the 
writers of the Holy Scriptures. Consider the character 
of the intelligence contained in the Bible. Here is a 
record of the most astonishing miracles, the most 
glorious doctrines, the most holy precepts, the most 
instructive examples, the most solemn ordinances, and 
the most wonderful predictions. These miracles, doc- 
trines, precepts, examples, ordinances, and predictions, 
were designed for general and perpetual information, 
faith, obedience, warning and encouragement, govern- 
ment and hope : and therefore it was necessary that 
they should be faithfully recorded. But, as to events, 
many of these had occurred two or three thousand 
years before the time of the authors who relate them : 
while others, the subjects of prophecy, were not in- 
tended to occur until thousands of years after the dates 
when first foretold. Now, tradition was not sufficient 
to furnish an accurate history of the former class : nor 
any natural sagacity adequate to the circumstantial 
anticipation of the latter. Of course, admitting the 

truth of the record, inspiration was necessary. And 

16 



242 THE INSPIRATION OP 

not only was it necessary in relation to events, but, for 
reasons quite as strong, it was indispensable in regard 
to all tbe other points specified. If, then, inspiration 
were thus necessary to truthfulness, it is in the highest 
degree probable that it was employed: for, again, it 
were absurd to suppose that the Sovereign of the 
universe would perform such miracles, reveal such 
doctrines, enjoin such precepts, raise up such examples, 
institute such ordinances, and open such prophetic 
contemplations, through any succession of generations ; 
and then, when the time came for things of so much 
interest to be registered, for the benefit of all genera- 
tions, throughout the world, to the end of the world, 
should abandon the scribes to the erroneous influences 
of old legends, and treacherous memories, and wild 
imaginations. The probability is exceedingly strong, 
that, as God exercised so much care in the preparation 
of material for the Scriptures, he also dictated, or, in 
some way, superintended and controlled the composi- 
tion of them. 

But all these remarks are general and preliminary. 
We may now be more particular and determinate. 
The position is more than probable — it is certain. 
There are positive proofs that God did inspire the 
writers of these books. 

A very judicious English author, treating this same 
subject, notices the evidences of the inspiration of the 
Old Testament, and of the JNTew Testament, separately. 
There are manifest advantages in this arrangement: 
and hence it is here adopted. 

First, then, let us examine some proofs of the inspi- 
ration of the Old Testament. 

I commence with the testimony of the Jews. The 
ancient Jews divided this part of our volume into 



THE SCRIPTURES. 243 

twenty-two books, and arrayed them in three classes — 
the law, the prophets, and the psalms. The modern 
Jews divide them into twenty-four books : preserving, 
however, the same number of classes, but attributing 
different degrees of inspiration to them — to the first 
class, full inspiration ; to the second, less ; and to the 
third, but little. In all ages though, notwithstanding 
minor varieties of opinion, they have steadfastly adhered 
to the belief that their Scriptures, in whole, are truly 
inspired. As long as they maintained their integrity 
as a nation, they "preserved the sacred books in the 
archives of the temple, and read them in the syna- 
gogues." They called them "books of holiness," and 
"the holy thing of the Lord:" and, in respect for their 
holiness, they were remarkably scrupulous in the use 
of them — washing their hands before they touched 
them, kissing them whenever they opened or shut 
them, and always placing them on the top of other 
books. Again — they styled them " the sacred writings, ' ' 
and "the oracle of God," perhaps in contradistinction 
to the vanity of heathen oracles. Josephus, moreover, 
declares that "it was a common principle, imbibed by 
all the Jews, from their very birth, to consider them 
as the doctrines of God, to abide by them, and, if need 
be, willingly to die for them." 

We have, then, the testimony of the whole Jewish 
people in support of the position that the Old Testa- 
ment was "given by inspiration of God." And here 
it must be remembered, that the Jews well knew, and 
they alone, the origin and history of the writings to 
which they ascribed such peculiar honor. They were 
Tewish books: not borrowed from other nations, but 
produced among themselves. Even Job may not be 
an exception. This is the fact which makes their 



244 THE INSPIRATION OF 

testimony so important: and which, as far as human 
authority is admissible, makes the argument conclusive. 
The second argument is derived from the testimony 
of Christ and his Apostles. This is explicit, and deserves 
the utmost confidence. Jesus, speaking of the law, 
the prophets, and psalms, as they related to himself, 
affirmed that "they must he fulfilled:" and mentioned 
certain events as occurring for the very purpose "that 
the Scriptures might he fulfilled:" and frequently 
referred disputants and inquirers after truth to the 
same sacred authority, as altogether decisive and satis- 
factory. In like manner, the Apostles were in the 
habit of quoting from the books of the Old Testament 
in proof and illustration of their assertions. "What 
saith the Scripture?" — exclaimed St. Paul, in mainte- 
nance of his argument: and his official brethren had 
recourse to the same source of evidence, as amply 
sufficient to settle any controversy. 

jSTow, it is plain that there could be no propriety in 
declaring that the Scriptures must be fulfilled; no 
propriety in representing current events as actual 
Scriptural fulfillments; no propriety in appealing to 
these Scriptures as supreme religious arbiters; unless 
they were received, on all sides, not as the word of 
man, full of conjecture and perhaps of error, but, as 
the word of God, revelation by inspiration, the indis- 
putable will of the Highest. 

We have, however, still further proof: not, indeed, 
of superior authority, but, more precise and clear. 
Thus, St. Peter, speaking of the prophets, most 
emphatically avers, that "it was the spirit of Christ, 
which was in them, that testified beforehand the suffer- 
ings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." In 
another passage, he states, that "the prophecy came 



THE SCRIPTURES. 245 

not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of 
old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 
Again, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, there is an 
extract from the ninety-fifth Psalm, which is introduced 
in this way: "Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith" — 
not as David saith, or as the Psalmist saith, but, " as 
the Holy Ghost saith :" expressly attributing the origin 
of the saying to the divine spirit. These instances, 
however, are particular. Now, therefore, let us con- 
clude this enumeration of evidences by a passage which 
has a general application. Here I refer to the text and 
context.. In the two preceding verses, St. Paul thus 
exhorts his son in the gospel: "But continue thou in 
the things which thou hast learned and hast been 
assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them ; 
and that from a child thou hast known the holy scrip- 
tures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, 
through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Then comes 
the text itself: "All scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and," as the context proceeds, "is profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, 
thoroughly furnished unto all good works." True, it 
has been observed, and with some consent, that the 
clause ought to read — "All scripture, given by inspira- 
tion of God, is profitable" &c; but even if this were 
agreed upon, which it is not, the sense would remain 
the same, for this reading implies that there are certain 
scriptures which have been "given by inspiration of 
God," and the preceding context confines the implica- 
tion to "the Holy Scriptures" of which we are speaking. 
Upon these testimonials, then, for the present, we' 
will rest the position, that the Old Testament was 
"given by inspiration of God." Let us now notice a 



246 THE INSPIRATION OF 

few of the proofs of the inspiration of the New 
Testament. 

It may not be improper to preface these, also, by the 
statement of a strong probability : This is inferred from 
the fact, that, if it was important for the writers of the 
Old Testament, it was still more so for those of the 
New, to be inspired — because the New Testament is 
the record of the last and best, the most universal and 
most permanent, of all the divine dispensations. 

But, there is positive evidence here also. Notice, 
then, first, in connexion with the necessity of inspira- 
tion, the promises of Christ that it should be granted. 
True, the authors of the New Testament, excepting 
St. Paul, were personal witnesses of most of the trans- 
actions they relate; and had learned the doctrines they 
taught from the lips of the Lord himself: and these, 
certainly, were great advantages, in view of their 
subsequent labors. Still, it was necessary that they 
should be inspired: for several years had elapsed 
between the death of the Messiah and the production 
of the earliest of the gospels ; and, before the compo- 
sition of some of the New Testament books, thirty, 
forty, fifty, or more, years had gone by. Now, it 
cannot be imagined, much less believed, that the 
Evangelists and Apostles could recollect, with exact- 
ness, all which they have written — such a multitude 
and variety of incidents and discourses — during so 
long an interval of time. It must be conceded, that, 
if they have given us correct narratives, they were 
inspired to do it: for the task which they had to 
perform was manifestly beyond the power of the 
human intellect, unless aided and directed by the 
divine spirit. But, we may argue that they actually 
enjoyed this heavenly assistance, not only from the 



THE SCRIPTURES. 247 

necessity of it, but, more especially, from the fact that 
our Saviour plainly promised it unto them. "The 
Comforter" — said Jesus — "which is the Holy Ghost, 
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach 
you all things, and bring all things to your remem- 
brance, whatsoever I have said to you." And not 
only was the Spirit to bring past things to their 
remembrance, but he was also to give them knowledge 
of future things. Hence, the Redeemer afterward 
declared — "Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is 
come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not 
speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that 
shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." 
This argument seems, to me, decisive. It may be 
summed up thus: — In the very nature of things, it 
was necessary that these writers should be inspired: 
and our Lord, foreseeing the necessity, promised to 
meet it at all points, and supply it fully, by the mission 
of the Holy Spirit. The only question that could 
remain would be — whether the promise was fulfilled ; 
and the manner in which the several writers have 
accomplished their undertaking, is ample demonstra- 
tion that it was fulfilled. Their whole work bears the 
impress of the Spirit. 

But, further, the Apostle Paul substantially, if not 
expressly, claims inspiration. Witness his authoritative 
address to the Corinthians. " If any man think him- 
self to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge 
that the things I write unto you are the commandments 
of the Lord." Again, in the same epistle, he seems to 
take the liberty of stating his own judgment in a certain 
case — yet not without the greatest caution. Mark his 
language: "But, to the rest speak i, not the Lord." 
Still, even in that instance, it may be presumed that 



248 THE INSPIRATION OF 

he spoke with the ordinary authority of an apostle, 
though without special instruction. In the same chap- 
ter, however, he reverts to special instruction, or else 
refers to pre-existing statutes, saying: "I command, 
yet not I, but the Lord." The remarkable care which 
he thus manifests, to distinguish ordinary from extra- 
ordinary decisions and requirements, furnishes evidence 
which forcibly commends itself to our reason, that, 
with certain designated exceptions, if indeed even such 
instances be exceptions, all his writings were truly 
"given by inspiration of God." And, if St. Paul was 
inspired, then is the inference fair and strong, that his 
co-workers in the same high office were likewise endued 
with the same indispensable qualification. 

In addition to these evidences, we may notice the 
fact, that the earliest Christian authors, after the first 
century, make frequent extracts from the writings of 
the evangelists and apostles, and pay them the same 
deference which they show to the other Scriptures, and 
employ as exalted titles to distinguish them from un- 
inspired books. They styled them — "the sacred 
writings," "the holy scriptures," "the divine word," 
"the divine scriptures," "the divinely inspired scrip- 
tures," and "the scriptures of the Lord." Indeed, the 
universal consent of the church in all ages may be 
adduced in confirmation of the truth — that the ISTew 
Testament, as well as the Old, was "given by inspira- 
tion of God." 

So far, after glancing at the nature and character of 
inspiration, we have seen that the contents of the 
Scriptures and the circumstances under which they 
were written, render it highly probable that they were 
inspired : and have noticed the faith of the Jews in the 
inspiration of the Old Testament, and the consent of 



THE SCKIPTUEES. 249 

the church to that of the New. Doubtless, however, 
it has been observed, that the strongest part of the 
argument — that in which the New Testament is made 
to support the inspiration of the Old, as well as to tes- 
tify in behalf of its own- — depends upon the authenticity 
of the New Testament. Now, therefore, another class 
of proofs may be submitted, which will incidentally 
involve the authenticity of the Scriptures generally, 
while, by the same means, our main proposition may 
be more satisfactorily established. The allusion here 
is to the external evidence of miracles and prophecy, 
and the numerous varieties of internal evidence. 

Let us notice, first, the evidence of miracles. True, 
it has been argued, and with no little force, that mira- 
cles, instead of proving inspiration, require an inspired 
record to assure us of their own occurrence. This, 
however, is not exactly correct. They require an 
authentic record : but not, of necessity, an inspired one. 
Still, there is a sort of internal evidence in the very 
character of a reported miracle, which goes far toward 
conviction of its occurrence or non-occurrence, and the 
truth or falsity of the report. This may be better felt 
than described. We are likely to have some realization 
of it as we proceed. "We cannot, indeed, notice all the 
peculiarities of the scriptural miracles : but a few will 
answer our purpose. One summary of them represents 
them as sensible, instantaneous, public, and great. 
But this omits some of their most impressive distinc- 
tions. ¥e may reflect, however, for a moment, on 
each of the points stated. 

They were sensible. He that had eyes to see, might 
see them : for the lame man leaped up in perfect sound- 
ness ; the blind man looked around upon the spectators 
of his cure, with the radiant countenance of unutterable 



250 THE INSPIRATION OF 

gladness; the deaf man started, when the mingling 
voices of the multitude poured into his unstopped ears ; 
and the pale and weak invalid arose, renewed, and took 
up his bed and walked. And so, he that had ears to 
hear, might hear them : for the man dumb from infancy, 
shouted for joy, and talked with all he met; and even 
the power of taste, or the appetite of hunger, could 
prove them : for a few loaves and fishes were made 
substantial food for thousands, and the relics were more 
than the original provision. 

They were also instantaneous. The eyes that were 
all gloom one instant, were all glory the next: the lips 
that were silent as the grave one instant, were musical 
with a rapid eloquence the next : the palsied arm that 
hung trembling at the side one instant, stretched itself 
forth and thrilled with teeming energies the next : and 
the miserable maniac, maddened by demons, in the 
twinkling of an eye became gentle as a lamb. 

They were also public. Not in the night only, not 
in private places only; but, at noon-day, and in the 
common highway, and in populous towns, and in 
crowded cities, with thousands in his train, or grouped 
around him; and under the inspection, not only of a 
few disciples, but, of hosts of enemies, gazing with 
malignant eyes on all he did, and listening with ma- 
lignant ears to all he said — thus did our Lord, in par- 
ticular, perform his works. And so were the miracles 
of the Bible generally wrought. 

But, not only were they sensible, instantaneous, 
and public, they were also great. Duly considered, 
those of the New Testament excel in grandeur. At 
first sight, however, some in the Old Testament seem 
more magnificent. Turn, for instance, to the Exodus 
from Egypt. Behold the frantic tribes of Israel on 



THE SCRIPTURES. 251 

the border of the Red Sea, with the dark and mighty 
waters heaving and roaring before them, and the thun- 
der-like roll of thousands of chariots, and the earthquake 
tramp of myriads of hastening foes, reverberating 
behind them. And now, behold Moses, serene as a 
statue, but lifting his rod as surely as though he held 
in his grasp the omnipotence of the angel shining in 
the cloud above him : and see ! the sundering of the 
deep, the backward rush of the resurgent billows, and 
the sudden formation of liquid walls, as firm as granite 
and as fair as crystal : and now, wonder at the escape 
of the people of the Lord, plunging into the depths, 
hurrying on between the walls, and rising up unharmed 
on the opposite shore: and again, with still greater 
wonder, gaze on the returning waves, as they uncoil 
their crests, and fling their fullness on the tyrant and 
his host, and all the parade of war is tossed amidst the 
seething foam and strewn along the resounding shore. 

Or, come down again to the time of our Saviour. 
Behold him, wakened in haste by his terrified disciples, 
rising up calmly in the little vessel, and, by a single 
breath of peace, causing the winds, that were sweeping 
through the whole heavens, to cease to blow; the 
surges, that were raging from shore to shore, to hush 
their faintest murmur; and the steady boat to glide 
along the smooth and glassy surface, with only a 
whisper of love in its sail, and the prattle of breaking 
bubbles at its prow. 

Or, look again. There is a city. A funeral train 
comes forth from the gate. A poor, heart-broken 
widow walks behind the bier which bears the corpse 
of her only son, her last hope, now going to the grave. 
But who is this, that approaches the train, and speaks 
to the disconsolate, saying, "Weep not?" Can any 



252 THE INSPIRATION OF 

one in human form thus mock her woe ? Ah ! 'tis the 
pilgrim Jesus! He comes from afar in mercy, and 
utters the language of promise. See ! he touches the 
bier, and its bearers stop. He calls to the dead — 
"Young man, I say unto thee, arise!" And lo! he 
that was dead, sits up, and speaks, and his Saviour 
delivers him to his mother. Thus, the captive of death 
was restored to his home ; the grave listened in vain 
for the coming of the mourners' steps ; and the heart 
of the widow became a heaven of delight — her son 
alive, and her Lord at her side. 

Eow, if these be, in part, the true characteristics of 
the scriptural miracles : if, to say no more of them, 
they were indeed thus sensible, instantaneous, public, 
and great : then, it may be argued that the account of 
them must be authentic. There could be no imposi- 
tion, under such circumstances. Self-deception seems 
out of the question. The reporters of them, at least 
of such generally as have been noticed, were personal 
witnesses of them. Possessing the common senses, 
they were capable of making a just estimate of their 
character. Moreover, they were honest men ; so honest 
that all of them hazarded their lives, and most of them 
lost their lives, by adherence to the truth. If, however, 
the account be authentic — if these miracles did actually 
occur — then the divine mission of those who wrought 
them is established, and the inspiration of the Scrip- 
tures, prepared by their hands, and left us as inspired, 
must be acknowledged. 

The chief peculiarity of the miracles of the Bible, 
however, and especially of those performed by Christ 
himself, is, their connexion with the plan of redemp- 
tion — their significancy as symbols of the design and 
the ability of our Lord Jesus Christ to secure for us, 



THE SCRIPTURES. 253 

ultimately, an entire and eternal salvation. We are 
sinners, and need a Saviour from sin. We are suffer- 
ers, and need a Saviour from suffering. Christ is such 
a Saviour. Why did he forgive sin? Why did he 
remove so many of the effects of sin ? Why did he 
give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to 
the dumb, strength to the lame, wholeness to the 
maimed, cleanness to the leper, soundness to the 
paralytic, peace to the lunatic, self-possession to the 
demoniac, health to the diseased, life to the dead, 
resurrection to the buried, and all other varieties of 
relief to all other classes of sufferers? Was it for 
their sake alone? Surely not. They all became 
sufferers again: and this day their bodies are still 
mingling with the common elements. No, no : it was 
for the sake of the whole world, to the end of the 
world, that these miracles were wrought. By them, 
the Lord Jesus illustrated then, and illustrates still, 
and will continue to illustrate, until the appointed time 
for his second advent, both his intention and his power 
to "save them to the uttermost that come unto God 
by him." Then, when he shall "appear the second 
time, without sin, unto salvation," he will fully accom- 
plish what his former miracles only prefigured. The 
resurrection will be — sight for all, hearing for all, 
speech for all, strength for all, wholeness for all, clean- 
ness for all, soundness for all, peace for all, self-posses- 
sion for all, health for all, and life, immortal life, for 
all. Now, when the miracles of Christ are thus studied, 
the resultant impression is — the whole record must be 
authentic, and, being authentic, it must be inspired. 
The world is not more full of the wants of man, than 
the Bible is full of the redeeming supplies of God. 



254 THE INSPIRATION OP 

But, merely intimating this range, let us now turn 
to the prophecies of the Scriptures, as proofs of their 
inspiration. This is probably the highest evidence that 
can be exhibited, in support of this doctrine. It is 
manifestly impossible for any man, in the simple 
exercise of his natural faculties, to foresee and foretell 
future events. This must be confessed. On the other 
hand, it will be as readily admitted that God knows 
events which are future to man, and has power to 
communicate the certainty and circumstances of their 
occurrence. If, therefore, the Scriptures contain prophe- 
cies of events which were clearly beyond the reach of 
all human sagacity ; and prophecies which, in due time, 
were circumstantially and indisputably fulfilled; we 
must conclude that they were "given by inspiration of 
God." 

Look, then, at some of these predictions. For 
instance, was it not predicted, by many prophets, from 
the time of Moses to the time of our Saviour, that the 
Jewish people, after being carried captive again and 
again, should at last be dispersed among all nations : 
be oppressed everywhere: and become a common 
astonishment, proverb, and by-word of reproach ? Was 
it not predicted of Edom, the proud dweller " in the 
clefts of the rock" — "Though thou exalt thyself as 
the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the 
stars, thence will I bring thee down?" Was it not 
predicted of Egypt — "It shall be the basest of the 
kingdoms ; neither shall it exalt itself any more above 
the nations ?" Was it not predicted of Tyre — "Behold, 
I am against thee, Tyrus, and will cause many 
nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his 
waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls 
of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also 



THE SCRIPTURES. 255 

scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top 
of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets, 
in the midst of the sea?" Was it not predicted of 
Babylon — "It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it 
be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither 
shall the Arabian pitch tent there : neither shall the 
shepherds make their fold there?" And was it not 
predicted of Mneveh, also, he "will make Mneveh a 
desolation, and dry like a wilderness. And flocks 
shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the 
nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall 
lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing 
in the windows ; desolation shall be in the thresholds : 
for he shall uncover (or, when he hath uncovered,) the 
cedar work?" 

And what now? Were not all these predictions, 
and many more of equal or greater importance, literally 
and exactly fulfilled ? Where are the Jews ? Are they 
not a scattered and oppressed people, an astonishment, 
a proverb, and a by-word unto all nations? And 
where is Edom ? Let the startled echoes of sepulchral 
Petra answer. And where is Egypt? Is it not "the 
basest of the kingdoms?" And where is Tyre? Did 
not "many nations" go up against her — from the 
Macedonians to the Turks ? Her walls are destroyed, 
her towers are broken, her site has been scraped and 
made like the top of a rock, and there the fishermen 
do resort and spread their nets. And where is Babylon ? 
The Arabian pitches not his tent there; the shepherds 
make not their folds there. It only remains as a heap 
of ruins: the haunt of howling beasts and hooting 
owls — an astonishment and a hissing, without an 
inhabitant. And where is Mneveh? Dry as the 
wilderness, for many ages, the place where it stood 



256 THE INSPIRATION OF 

forgotten and unknown, it has been but recently dis* 
closed, and its "lintels," and "thresholds," and "cedar 
work," are at last "uncovered," as if on purpose to 
bear witness to the fact and the fidelity of inspiration. 
But, of all the scriptural prophecies, none were so 
important, none so numerous, none so various and 
minute, none in all respects so complete, and none so 
carefully and correctly fulfilled, as those which related 
to the coming, character, ministry, miracles, sufferings, 
death, resurrection, ascension, and reign of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ. "To him," as St. Peter 
declared, "give all the prophets witness." That he 
was to be preceded by a preparatory messenger, and 
born of a virgin, and in the village of Bethlehem; 
that the angels should worship him ; that he should be 
known as the Son of God ; that he should teach the 
people, and particularly the poor; that he should 
perform certain specified miracles ; that he should be 
persecuted by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities; 
that he should be reverenced by the multitude, and 
saluted by the praise of children ; that he should be at 
last betrayed by an apparent friend, and be tried and 
condemned, and die a violent death, and with the 
infamy of a transgressor, and be buried with the rich, 
and rise again from the grave, and ascend into heaven, 
and thenceforth reign over all the world forever — all 
these, and beside these, so many other things were 
foretold in regard to him ; so many minute circum- 
stances, even to the kind of drink to be offered him in 
his thirst, and the casting of lots for his raiment ; that 
the recital of them in whole would almost convey his 
perfect biography. For — they were all accomplished. 
John the Baptist was supernaturally provided as the 
harbinger: the blessed Mary was the virgin-mother: 



THE SCRIPTURES. 257 

and her holy son was born in Bethlehem. The angels 
did worship him — from the beginning to the end of his 
mission. Even from his youth, he familiarly called 
God his Father. The people, and especially the poor, 
received his instructions with universal and un declining 
interest. Miracles were his constant and common 
benefactions. Nevertheless, the authorities did perse- 
cute him — though the masses still revered him, and the 
children sang hosanna in his train. He was betrayed 
by a professed friend; and tried, condemned, and 
crucified, by his foes. He was exposed with malefac- 
tors : and, while he hung on the cross, his executioners 
offered the recorded drink, and cast lots for his seamless 
vesture. He was buried in a rich man's tomb, did 
rise from the dead, did ascend into heaven, and there 
he has reigned, and does reign, and will continue to 
reign, until all things shall be subdued unto himself — 
until even "death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed," 
and the suddenly resuscitated and imperishable forms 
of the innumerable millions of our race, shall collect 
before his throne, and await from his lips the irreversi- 
ble decision of their everlasting destiny. 

And now, surely, no reasonable man can reflect upon 
the number, variety, and importance of the scriptural 
prophecies ; and the amazing precision and complete- 
ness of their actual realization ; without acknowledging 
that they were inspired of God. And, if the prophe- 
cies were "given by inspiration," the inference is fair 
that the whole system of which they form a part, had, 
as it claims, the same origin. 

There is yet another class of proofs, to which it 

becomes us to devote some attention. It is scarcely, 

if at all, inferior to the evidence of prophecy. Indeed, 

in its full accumulation, it might be considered superior. 

17 



258 THE INSPIRATION OF 

The allusion, of course, is to the internal evidence 
of the inspiration of the Scriptures, consisting of the 
sublimity of their doctrines; the holiness of their 
precepts ; the harmony of their parts ; their wonderful 
preservation ; and their blessed effects. 

How sublime are their doctrinal developments! 
The nature, character, and government of God; the 
nature, position, and relations of man; the spiritual 
universe ; the material universe ; the history, condition, 
and destiny of both : in all these connexions, what an 
infinite loftiness and sweep of severe and simple 
thought there is ! What an assurance of truth there 
is ! What mind can even imagine the dissolution of 
this circle of accepted reality, and the substitution of 
something now unknown, as essential and eternal 
truth? Certainly, the God of the Bible, the Man of 
the Bible, the Creation, Providence, and Redemption 
of the Bible — these are the facts that occupy immensity, 
and have no need to be superseded, and cannot be 
superseded. 

How holy, also, are the precepts of the Scriptures ! 
They are all embodiments of love, pure love, and 
nothing but love. They are full of love — love from 
God to every man, and to all men: and love from 
every man to God, and from all men to each other. 
They are solemn with love — so solemn, that they allow 
nothing ludicrous, from the beginning of the Bible to 
the end of it. They are tender with love — so tender, 
that they allow not the slightest disrespect toward God, 
or the least ill to mankind. They are happy with 
love — so happy, that they intimate the source of God's 
own bliss, and make the obedient among men, under 
all circumstances, wishful of no other joy. They 
sanction the obligations, and prescribe the duties, 



THE SCRIPTURES. 259 

flowing from all relations; and leave nothing to be 
desired, by individuals, by members of families, by 
neighbors, or by nations, but the due practical obser- 
vance of their directions. The beauty of holiness is 
here — the dignity of holiness — the divinity of holiness. 

How remarkable, also, is the harmony of the Scrip- 
tures ! So many of them, so different in their special 
subjects and objects, and so variously produced- — 
really, it is wonderful that they should be so consistent, 
so thoroughly pervaded by one supreme design, and so 
co-operatively intent on the same gracious and saving 
result. As in the sky over Bethlehem, when one 
angel sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace, good will toward men," there was a mul- 
titude of other angels, at first unseen and unheard, to 
make the melody a sudden and mighty harmony : so, 
in the heaven of revelation, when even the least of the 
inspired ones lifts up a similar song, as though only to 
arouse the sleeping echoes around, the very leaders of 
the band, though before unnoticed, instantly acknow- 
edge the ever-charming challenge, and the whole com- 
pany join the chorus, without one lagging or jarring 
tone. 

How strangely, also, have the Scriptures been pre- 
served ! Thousands of other books, more admired and 
prized by the great men of the world, have been 
utterly lost, or are known only by a few fragments — 
while these have been kept entire, and comparatively 
uncorrupted. The effort has been to save other books : 
and yet they have perished. The effort has been to 
destroy the Scriptures ; and yet they survive. Tyrants 
have assumed their utmost terrors, and threatened the 
holders of these books with death, and given to the 
flames all the copies extorted from the fears of the 



260 THE INSPIRATION OF 

faithless — but other copies still escaped. Ten whole 
tribes of the very people among whom they originated 
have failed from the nations, and the remaining two 
are no longer separately distinguishable — but every one 
of their sacred books retains its place, and exercises, 
at this moment, a far more decided, extended and 
impressive sovereignty, than in the days of old. The 
breath of God, on a bit of parchment, is infinitely 
mightier than the most magnificent empire on the 
globe. 'Sot only tribes and kingdoms, but "heaven 
and earth" may pass away — and yet "one jot or one 
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be 
fulfilled." 

But, once more — how blessed, also, have been the 
effects of the Scriptures ! To a great extent, and in 
the noblest sense, they have already revolutionized the 
world. They have changed the principles, sentimeDts 
and habits of mankind: enlightening, purifying and 
elevating all. In many cases, they have reformed con- 
stitutions, equalized laws, and given a peaceable and 
liberal character to the administration of government. 
They have imparted a new impulse to the progress of 
art and science, of literature and philosophy ; and are, 
at this moment, carrying the elements of the highest 
civilization to the ends of the earth. Compare the 
vilest horde of savages with the purest society of 
Christians, and the advantages of the latter are only a 
partial demonstration of the power of the Scriptures. 
Nay, compare the most degraded and disgusting indi- 
vidual savage with the most exalted and enchanting 
example of Christian wisdom and saintliness — and still 
the illustration remains imperfect. That is, the Scrip- 
tures are capable of greater good than they have ever 
yet accomplished, even in the best specimen of their 



THE SCRIPTURES. 261 

influence. It is in personal relations, however, rather 
than social, that their actual effects are most admirable. 
They take the man as he is — whether high or low, rich 
or poor, bond or free, intelligent or ignorant, moral or 
immoral, sick or well, living or dying, and make him 
and keep him, in fact or by promise, all he ought to be. 
Oh, what grandeurs of thought, what raptures of feel- 
ing, what glories of relation and destiny, they silently 
but surely suggest, excite and sustain! How many 
myriads, like angels from heaven in disguise, are now 
living, in ' the midst of all the sins and sorrows of 
earth, holy and happy, through the sanctifying virtue 
of the Bible ! How many other myriads, like angels 
laying aside their disguise and returning to heaven, are 
now dying, in the paleness of perfect peace, or with 
the transfiguring splendor of triumphant joy — assured 
of a blissful immortality by the undoubted authority of 
the same cherished Word ! 

And what now? Can it be supposed that these 
Scriptures — so sublime in doctrine, so holy in precept, 
so harmonious in structure, so imperishable in texture, 
and so inestimably productive of spiritual and practical 
blessings — are of merely human origin ? Surely not. 
Read them, realize their influence, observe their influ- 
ence, reflect upon the history of their influence : and 
innumerable most affecting proofs will confirm the 
conclusion, that they were "given by inspiration of 
God." 

Many additional evidences might be introduced, in 
corroboration of the truth of our position: but the 
discourse has reached its proper limit, and we must 
submit the case, as thus presented. 

We have noticed the nature and character, the pos- 
sibility and probability of the inspiration of the Scrip- 



262 THE INSPIRATION OF 

tures. We have advanced to the certainty of their 
inspiration. "We have stated the positive proofs of 
this. We have specified the testimony of the Jewish 
nation, in all ages, and of our Saviour and his Apos- 
tles, in behalf of the inspiration of the Old Testament. 
We have cited the promises of Christ, the claims of 
the Apostles, and the consent of the Church, in sup- 
port of the inspiration of the New Testament. We 
have reviewed the evidence of miracles — sensible, 
instantaneous, public, great, and, more particularly, 
symbolically redeeming : and the evidence of prophe- 
cies, also — ancient, circumstantial, minute; involving 
the fate of nations; anticipating the history of the 
Messiah ; and all, in due time, exactly fulfilled. To 
these evidences, we have added those derived from the 
remarkable internal distinctions of doctrine, precept, 
and harmony, as well as the connected facts of won- 
derful preservation and saving influence. And so, for 
the present, we rest : re-affirming, in view of all, that 
the Bible is the Book of God — re-adopting, on its own 
authority, the explicit statement of the text, that "All 
Scripture is given by inspiration of God." 

And now, receiving this as a settled and acknow- 
ledged truth, the subject ought to be susceptible of a 
profitable application. 

If this be, indeed, the Book of God— if we all agree 
that " the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, 
whose name is Holy,-" and who, having created the 
universe, still upholds, superintends and controls it; 
has, from time to time, through many ages, paused in 
his mighty operations, and dictated to holy men, word 
by word, chapter by chapter, and book by book, the 
volume before us — with what gratitude and reverence 
should we regard it : with what diligence should we 



THE SCRIPTURES. 263 

study it : with what care should we employ it in domes- 
tic and social instruction : and with what zeal should 
we circulate it among all the nations of the earth. 

But, have we regarded it with gratitude and rever- 
ence? "Whether we have or not, others have: hun- 
dreds, thousands, myriads, millions: from the time 
when the first few tracts were written, down to the 
completion of the whole Book ; and, with the excep- 
tion of some dark intervals, ever since. How the 
psalmist exulted in the small parcel in his possession ! 
" Thy law is my delight ! " — " How sweet are thy words 
unto my taste ! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth ! " 
" The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thou- 
sands of gold and silver:" and again, as if language 
nearly failed him, "0, how love I thy law!" We 
should have the same spirit, but in a still higher degree. 
We should not only imitate this example, but excel it. 
Surely, with "All Scripture" in our possession, our grati- 
tude should be more fervent, and our reverence more 
profound. 

But, have we diligently studied this volume ? Hear 
the psalmist, in this connexion also: "It is my medi- 
tation all the day" — "Thou, through thy command- 
ments, hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for 
they are ever with me. I have more understanding 
than all my teachers : for thy testimonies are my medi- 
tation" — "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I 
might not sin against thee." What hosts of holy stu- 
dents have transferred not only a part, but nearly or 
quite the whole of this divine intelligence from the- 
book to their memory : hiding it in the heart : holding 
it at constant command: and subordinating everything 
in thought, feeling, word and action to its supreme au- 
thority and infallible direction ! Let us be like them.. 



264 THE INSPIEATION OF 

But again : Have we carefully used the Scripture in 
family and social instruction? Hear the psalmist, in 
this relation also, referring to the "sayings of old:" 
"We will not hide them from their children, showing 
to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and 
his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath 
done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and 
appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our 
fathers, that they should make them known to their 
children; that the generation to come might know 
them, even the children who should be born, who 
should arise and declare them to their children : that 
they might set their hope in God, and not forget the 
works of God, but keep his commandments." What 
multitudes of homes and schools have been illumined 
by such instructions : and, from these hallowed centres, 
what civil and religious energies have gone forth for 
the government and comfort of the world. Let us 
fulfill our own duty. 

And yet, once more: Have we shown due zeal in 
the diffusion of the Scriptures among destitute nations ? 
"0 send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead 
me ; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy 
tabernacles." So prayed the psalmist. And yet, not 
by his own wants alone, nor by those of his own people 
alone, were his sensibilities excited, and his supplica- 
tions prompted. On another occasion, he exclaimed: 
"0 sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the 
Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his 
name; show forth his salvation from day to day. 
Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders 
among all people." Under our dispensation, as the 
truth is now complete, it is made the duty of all who 
have it, to convey it to all who want it. Within the 



THE SCRIPTURES. 265 

last half century, the Church has pursued this work in 
earnest, and with surprising success. It might be 
thought tedious to enumerate the scriptural versions 
which have been made, or to name the nations and 
tribes among whom they have been distributed. Even 
in private, and with all possible facilities, it is difficult 
to keep up with the glorious progress. The vision 
tempts us to extravagance. We are disposed to say — 
At last, the moral world has turned into a region of 
common light. The heavens, all around it, are simul- 
taneously radiant. True, this radiance is not equally 
intense at all points. Still, everywhere it is either as 
the noon or as the morning. The cone of the night- 
shadow is pierced by a spiritual brilliance, more search- 
ing and subduing than the pale beauty of the moon 
and stars. The kind of light which prevails in the city 
where there is "no need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine in it," has come to inclose our sphere 
in perfect and endless day. Alas ! we must resist this 
temptation. Though much has been done, more re- 
mains to be done : and we must take part in doing it. 
Where is our zeal? Think of Christ and his cross! 
Think of the world and its woe ! And let us remem- 
ber, that our God is the God of all. All Scripture 

WAS GIVEN EOR ALL MEN. 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME, 



"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name, 
under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved." 

Acts, iv: 12. 

From the text and context, the following three 
propositions are collected : 1. That God has given to 
the world the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 
whom the Jews crucified, and whom he raised from the 
dead, as the name whereby men must be saved; 2. 
That there is none other name so given under heaven 
or among men; and, 3. That there is not, therefore, 
salvation in any other. 

The first of these propositions is of supreme impor- 
tance. It involves the honor of God and the happiness 
of man. It implies a contrast of divine perfection and 
human imperfection; of the goodness, wisdom, and 
power of our Maker, to the depravity, folly, and weak- 
ness of our race; a contrast solemn, wonderful, and 
overwhelming ; tending to penitence, faith, and obedi- 
ence — and, by such means, to redemption and praise. 

The necessity for salvation is universal. The proofs 
of this necessity are witnessed in sin, sorrow, and 
death, all over the world. The acknowledgment of it 
is seen and heard, in tears and groans, wherever there 
are eyes to weep or lungs to breathe. The desire for 
it is nearly or quite co-extensive: being everywhere 
(266) 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 267 

expressed by the institutions of religion, either true or 
false. In a word, the fearful haunts of the fugitive 
living, and the silent homes of the settled dead, are 
alike overshadowed by this one want. 

Such a condition is sufficient, of itself, to invest with 
the most persuasive probability the supposition of some 
saving intervention on the part of the Almighty. But, 
as Christian ministers, we go farther than this : assert- 
ing, as the distinctive duty of our glorious office, that 
such an intervention has been made — presenting and 
elucidating the historic and prophetic testimony, in 
relation to the origin, progress, and completion of the 
plan. In the course of this development, we are con- 
strained, by the most imperative obligations, to state — 
in the clearest, fullest, and strongest terms — the deep 
humiliation and dishonored death of the person 
announced as the elect agent of the Godhead for the 
accomplishment of this incomparable work. 

Here it is, that our sinful nature, from first to last, 
evinces its hostility to the revelation of the Highest. 
Notwithstanding its beseeching acknowledgment of 
the necessity for salvation, it turns away offended from 
such a Saviour as this. As though the lessons of Eden 
were forgotten : as though the frost of death had never 
fallen on the Tree of Life, and the golden terrace over 
the folded gate had never flashed with the fire-swords 
of the cherubim: man, even in his degradation, still 
ambitious to become a god, and yet, with marvelous 
inconsistency, still disdaining to be like God, prefers 
pride and damnation to humility and redemption, ever 
receding from heaven by perverse perseverance in the 
path that takes hold on hell. 

In all this opposition, ignorance is as remarkable as 
pride. These deplorable distinctions of the natural 



268 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

man are, indeed, inseparable. If one exist, so must 
the other. If one prevail, so will the other. If one 
decline, so will the other. And herein is our hope. 
Herein is the hope of the Church. Herein is the con- 
fidence of Christ. Herein is the serene assurance of 
the Father. Ignorance may be dispelled ; and there- 
fore pride may be subdued. Error may be vanquished 
by truth ; and therefore love may succeed to hatred. 
The mind may be enlightened ; and therefore the heart 
may be hallowed. 

The plan of salvation, in order that it may be 
successful, must be appreciated ; that it may be appre- 
ciated, it must be understood ; that it may be under- 
stood, it must be studied ; and, that this study may be 
rightly conducted and well concluded, it must be 
strictly confined to or determined by the recorded and 
authoritative expositions of divine revelation. 

Here it is, that we assume our vantage ground. We 
survey the plan, not from an earthly, but from a 
heavenly position. "We stand, not in the darkness 
which gathers about the cross, but, in the glory which 
beams from the throne. We make our observations, 
not with the filmy vision of the "natural man," who 
"receiveth not the things of the spirit of God," 
esteeming them foolish, because he cannot clearly dis- 
cern them; but, with the open sight of the "spiritual 
man," to whom it is given to know these things, 
"comparing spiritual things with spiritual," judging 
"all things," and having "the mind of Christ." In a 
word, instead of the ineffable impiety of presuming to 
decide the character of a scheme, which presents the 
brightest transcript of infinite perfection, by the petty 
prejudices and vile passions of our unrenewed estate, 
we rise, with redeemed facility and felicity, into the 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 269 

sublimest condition of communion with God, feeling 
his emotions, thinking his thoughts, looking through 
his eyes, and sympathizing with him, in the unequaled 
display of his goodness, wisdom, and power, in the 
objects, theory, and history of this most magnificent 
of his works. 

How, then, does the Divine Mind contemplate the 
plan of salvation ? Blessed be his name ! it is not 
impossible, not difficult, nay, it is as easy as it is 
delightful, to tell. For, to repeat substantially but 
not formally the same truths just cited, though it was 
once written — "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of man the things 
which God hath prepared for them that love him:" it 
has since been written, with equal authority and in 
this immediate connexion — "But God hath revealed 
them unto us, by his spirit ; for the spirit searcheth 
all things, yea, the deep things of God." Where, 
then, is this revelation? It is here — in the Bible! 
The eye may look, the ear listen, the heart long for it 
from any or all other sources, but — it is to be found 
only here. Here the veil is removed: and, in this 
Holy of Holies, we discover "the hidden wisdom 
which God ordained before the world unto our glory." 
The princes of the world, now as of old, may reject 
this wisdom : but, if they do, in the awfulness of their 
delusion they crucify afresh "the Lord of glory." 
"But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the 
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, 
from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord." 
But — what is this revelation ? This is the great ques- 
tion, and must be plainly answered. 

The two main events in the annals of our race are — 
the introduction of sin, and, the atonement for sin. 



270 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

These are the causes which modify our history and 
determine our destiny. The former is destructive; 
the latter, restorative. The former originates the evils 
which the latter is designed to counteract: and the 
character of the Deity is to be vindicated and glorified 
by the demonstration of the sufficiency of the contri- 
vance to its purpose. 

In comparing these two controlling agencies, it will 
be found that there are remarkable resemblances and 
diversities between them — in all of which will be 
evident the admirable adaptations of the redeeming 
plan. 

Look at their history. Here are important resem- 
blances. Was sin introduced into the world by one 
man? So was the atonement for sin made by one 
man! Has sin been universal in its influence? So 
has the atonement been ! Has sin been perpetual in 
its influence ? So has the atonement been ! Has sin 
affected all human interests, personal and social, for 
time and eternity? So has the atonement for sin! 
These resemblances were essential to the subjugation 
of evil by good. The evil is met, at every point, by a 
power adequate to its entire overthrow. Is not all this 
like God? 

But now look at their nature. Here are utter con- 
trarieties. Does sin imply the transgression of the 
divine law? Atonement implies that the law is mag- 
nified and made honorable ! Does sin imply the suc- 
cess of demoniacal temptation? Atonement implies 
the destruction of the works of the devil ! Does sin 
imply self-indulgence? Atonement implies self-sacri- 
fice ! Are not these counterworkings worthy a God ? 
Should not his law be rescued from dishonor? Should 
not his foe be baffled? Should not these objects be 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 271 

secured, even at the cost of such, a sacrifice? Alas! 
here starts up again that old and mighty objection! 
Let us turn away, therefore, for a while, and consider 
more particularly the great demonstration of sin — the 
depravity, folly and weakness of man while in subjec- 
tion to sin. 

It seems clear, from the sacred history, that a sort of 
ambition — a holy ambition — an upward, heavenly, 
divine tendency — was one of the original and essential 
characteristics of our perfect constitution. The per- 
sonal distinctions, both bodily and spiritual, of which 
our first parents could not be unconscious, must have 
been accompanied by a sense of incomparable dignity. 
Their specified ofiice, also — a kind of mediatorial sov- 
ereignty, representative of God before the world, and 
of the world before God : their pleasant situation — in 
the paradise of a sphere fresh with its first dew and 
fragrance, blooming with all beauty, glowing with all 
love, and over which, harmonizing with its own 
music, "the morning stars sang together and all the 
sons of God shouted for joy : " these circumstances, in 
connexion with the magnitude of the actual and pros- 
pective interests dependent upon their agency, were 
naturally attended, if at all appreciated, by a feeling of 
elevation — a feeling made solemn indeed by many and 
great responsibilities, but still a current rapture, and 
instinct with intimations of a yet nobler and forever 
progressive destiny. The character of the temptation, 
also, by which they were betrayed into ruin, agrees with 
the view suggested. The sagacity of the tempter is 
confessed by the record, and illustrated by his success. 
But, to what principle did he appeal ? To a downward 
principle ? Not at all. There was no such principle 
in our nature. Such an appeal might well have caused 



272 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

the very serpent to hiss at the demon who possessed it. 
Satan knew that the whole tendency of man was up- 
ward: from the natural to the spiritual, from the 
earthly to the heavenly, from the temporal to the eter- 
nal, from communion with the world of which he was 
lord to communion with its Creator, who made him 
lord. Therefore, it was to this principle that he art- 
fully applied. "Ye shall he as gods!" That was the 
enchantment. True, the tree was supposed to be 
"good for food" — and this was an appeal to the appe- 
tite. It was "pleasant to the eyes," also — and this 
was an appeal to the imagination. Moreover, it was 
to "be desired to make one wise"— and this was an 
appeal to the intellect, These three attractions were 
strong; but they were known before, and had been 
resisted before. Other trees, exuberantly fruitful, cer- 
tainly good, charmingly fair, and perfectly free, were 
grouped about them, with a blessing, instead of a 
curse, on their branches : and as for knowledge, they 
already enjoyed it, in its proper elements; being ac- 
quainted with God and his works, and remaining igno- 
rant only of "evil." But "ye shall be as gods!" 
There was the assault upon the heart. And the heart 
gave way. The knowledge of "evil" was acquired— 
that men might be "as gods." The sentence of 
"death" was incurred — that men might be "as gods." 
The law of God was broken, and the authority of God 
renounced — that men might be "as gods." The very 
principle, which, if its rectitude and allegiance had 
been maintained, would have found its reward in a 
translation from Eden to heaven, was made the means, 
by its treasonable and selfish perversion, of a hopeless 
pilgrimage from paradise toward perdition. And so, 
having exalted themselves "as gods," the "eyes of 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 273' 

them both were opened, and," in marvelous addition 
to their former stock of knowledge, and with corres- 
ponding ascension above their former employments, 
the two divinities "knew that they were naked, and they 
sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons ! " 

JSTow, this first example is the best key to the history 
of our race, in all its rebellion against God. The same 
principle that distinguished Adam and Eve — the same 
upward tendency, the same lofty aspiration — has dis- 
tinguished their descendants in all lands and ages. 
Most wretchedly perverted as it is, still it is the hope 
and the glory of our nature. If man sink, it is be- 
cause he must sink. His wish, and will, and effort, 
are all opposed to it. He may cause his own ruin, but 
will contend against it to the last. As the eagle, with 
a viper in her talons, finding, when too late, that its 
folds are round her neck and its fangs about her heart, 
screams out in the silent sky, soars higher and higher, 
turns over on her back, flaps her wings upward, strikes 
with her bill, turns again, spreads her pinions, shakes 
her plumes, sweeps away on the wind, and toils back, 
shuddering, toward her nest, yet still bleeds, and 
droops, until, ever struggling to rise, she closes her 
faint vision — lifted to the last toward the cliff and the 
sun — -and falls, lifeless, to the serpent's lair: so strug- 
gles man with his coiled and venomous vices, and so 
he falls, with his latest glance upraised toward his 
home and his God. 

The same design, also, apparent in the departure of 

our progenitors from God, has marked the wickedness 

of their children. Never yet have men or nations — 

savage, civilized or Christian — entered upon a course 

of wrong, violated the law of conscience, or the law of 

the Bible, with a deliberate determination to debase 

18 



274 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

and destroy themselves. They have done wrong when 
forewarned, even on divine authority, that such conse- 
quences would ensue. But they did not believe the 
warning. They expected, at least, to improve their 
condition, if not their character: and their over- 
valuation of the former made them insensible to the 
mischief of impairing the latter. They were fasci- 
nated by the fictions of the tempter. They designed 
to be "as gods" 

The history of the world is an inexhaustible accu- 
mulation of evidence in support of this truth. Glance 
at the antediluvian history. Why did Cain murder 
Abel ? Because, as the official superior, he could not 
brook that his own offering should be rejected, and 
his brother's accepted. It looked like the transfer of 
his birth-right sovereignty, his decreed and predicted 
rule, from himself and his descendants to Abel and 
his descendants. Is it not manifest that murder began 
for the maintenance of dominion ? And why was it 
that the first murderer built the first city ? And why 
is it that, in his genealogical line, which both begins 
and ends with the name of a murderer, we find, not 
any allusion to the worship of God, but merely the 
origin of the arts, the domestic and national symbols 
of wealth, fame and power? Are not these plain in- 
dications of an impious race, ambitiously but vainly 
striving to be "as gods" themselves? And so, when 
the comparatively humble and holy offspring of Seth, 
who first, after the death of Abel, began "to call upon 
the name of the Lord," and who, therefore, are de- 
nominated " the sons of God" — when they, looking upon 
the gaiety of the daughters and the giantry of the sons 
of "men," or the posterity of Cain, forsook their own 
.homes of embowered and pastoral simplicity, and for- 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 275 

got the virtue of their own virgins and the sacredness 
of their hallowed altars in forbidden alliances — why 
was it that they so sinned against the God of their 
fathers, blending the righteousness of the world, which 
had been so long sanctified, with the unrighteousness 
of the world, which had so long revelled in excess, 
until the "wickedness of man became great in the 
earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his 
heart was only evil continually" — "and it repented 
the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it 
grieved him at his heart," for "the earth was corrupt 
before" him, and "filled with violence," and "all flesh 
had corrupted his way upon the earth" — why was all 
this, but that, infatuated by worldly prosperity and 
pleasure, and aspiring to participate in the excitement 
to the utmost, they designed, by their apostacy from 
the Almighty, to be "as gods" themselves? 

Glance, also, at the postdiluvian history. Is not the 
same design universally obvious ? What was the obj ect 
of the magnificent enterprise on the plain of Shinar ? — 
the building of the tower of Babel? Did not the 
ancient ambition, which all the waters of the flood had 
failed to quench, rekindle there ? " This they begin to 
do," said God, "and now nothing will be restrained 
from them which they have imagined to do." It was 
the same proud spirit still. They had already begun a 
great thing ; their imaginations were full of yet greater 
things ; and all restraints were set at nought. They, 
too, would be "as gods." And what follows, through 
all the ages, but a continuous illustration of the same 
purpose ? Is it not evident in the persons of history, 
from Nimrod, Sesostris and Solomon ; Nebuchadnezzar 
and Cyrus ; Alexander and the Caesars ; to Attila, Ta- 
merlane and Napoleon ? Is it not evident in the cities 



276 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

of history, from Nineveh, Thebes and Jerusalem; 
Babylon and Tyre; Carthage, Athens and Rome; to 
Constantinople, Paris and London? And is it not 
evident in the empires of history, from the Assyrian, 
Egyptian and Jewish, the Persian and Phoenician, the 
Grecian and Eoman, to the Turkish and Spanish, the 
English, French and Russian? What mean the jeal- 
ousies and envyings, the frauds and cruelties of indi- 
viduals, but this ? What mean the rivalries of mighty 
cities, but this? What mean the wars of nations, and 
the collisions of kingdoms, but this ? What means the 
entire tumult, the universal and perpetual tumult, of 
the world, but this? It is the same antique aspira- 
tion. Men would be "as gods." 

But it is still more important to observe the fact, 
that the same effect has followed, in all subsequent 
strife with God, that was witnessed in the case of our 
first parents — the same essential and complete disap- 
pointment. Substantially, in all their relations and 
enterprises, the successive generations of dying deities, 
instead of creating worlds and commanding systems 
of worlds, have only discovered that they were all 
naked, and sought to hide their shame by sewing fig- 
leaves together and making themselves aprons. 

See Cain, for instance — driven forth from the pres- 
ence of the Lord, a fugitive and a vagabond, trembling 
with fear, and crying, as he flies, " My punishment is 
greater than I can bear!" See his whole progeny, 
after all their city-building and art-inventing, and 
power-displaying, and fame-achieving; and the whole 
progeny of Seth, except one family, after nearly 
two thousand years of hard toiling to become "as 
gods," swept away by the deluge, as unfit even to min- 
gle with brutes and reptiles in the habitancy of a 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 277 

sphere despoiled of its proper charms, and smouldering 
with an ancient curse. Hear, also, the sudden jargon- 
ing at Babel; and behold the confused multitude, 
breaking into parties, forsaking their unfinished tower, 
and hastening away in diverse pilgrimage to the ends 
of the earth. As for later times, see Solomon, even 
in the midst of his incomparable magnificence, kneel- 
ing on his golden footstool, between the twelve lions, 
and writing on his ivory throne, all overlaid with gold, 
the grievous confession, "Vanity of vanities, all is 
vanity." Hear Nebuchadnezzar exclaiming, "Is not 
this great Babylon, that I have built, for the house of 
the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the 
honor of my majesty? " And then, see him "driven 
from men," eating "grass as oxen," his body "wet 
with the dew of heaven," his hairs "grown like eagles' 
feathers, and his nails like birds' claws!" See Alex- 
ander in the death-throes of a drunken fool: Csesar, 
falling "even at the base of Pompey's statue:" and 
Napoleon, withering like a weed thrown up by the 
ocean on a sun-scorched island-rock. As for the cities, 
though more stable than their builders, where are they 
now? Mneveh— where is it? Babylon — where? 
And Thebes, Tyre and Carthage — where ? Jerusalem 
rises to our vision from its sepulchral vaults, like 
Simon, its last defender, ghastly pale. The ghost of 
Athens wails around the Acropolis. The skeleton of 
Eome is strewn, bone by bone, over the seven hills. 
And as for the empires, they too have disappeared. 
What is Assyria now? What, Egypt? "What, Phoe- 
nicia? What, Israel? What, Syria? Persia? Grecia? 
Carthage ? or Eome ? How have the tall cedars been 
laid low ! How have the mountains, which cast their 
shadows far down upon the clouds, and far away over 



278 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

continents, been leveled to the plain, and scattered 
with the sands of the desert ! How have the very stars 
descended from their serene and inaccessible spheres, 
and expired in the air, or been quenched in the sea ! 

Why all this waste of time and toil, of skill and 
power? Why such disappointment, shame and sorrow? 
Why such ruin of walls and gates, of towers and capi- 
tols, of temples and palaces ? Why such overthrow of 
thrones, crumbling of crowns, and snapping of scep- 
tres ? Is it not enough to make even fiends pity, and 
cause angels to weep, and God himself to grieve, to 
find such scorn and contempt cast upon the birth-right 
dignity and glory of all generations? la the name of 
man, the suffering subject : in the name of God, the 
omnipotent sovereign: for the happiness of the one 
and the honor of the other, I sadly challenge a hear- 
ing — I solemnly demand an answer. 

Why is it? Is it because ambition, in itself, is sin- 
ful ? because the upward tendencies, the divine aspira- 
tions, of our nature, are essentially wrong ? For the 
glory of God, I answer — No! Never! E"ot in the slight- 
est degree ! How could the child of God avoid the 
thrill of his filial sympathies ? How could the image 
of God fail to reflect the sublimity of his Father's 
countenance? How could the heir of God do else 
than look from the footstool to the throne ? When we 
cease to look up, we cease to be like God. When we 
look down, we turn toward perdition, and prepare for 
the exchange of the divine for the demoniac. No, 
no ; the cause is not here. 

What then? Is the cause in the design? Is the 
effort to secure the improvement of its condition, the 
reason of the afflictions of our race? Not at all! 
Here, also, for the glory of God, I repeat the answer — 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 279 

this is not the cause. Improvement was possible, even 
in Eden: and, because possible, desirable. Since the 
expulsion from Eden, it has not only been possible and 
desirable, but indispensably necessary. Without it, 
under present circumstances, existence is only a con- 
tinuous aggravation of the original curse. Certainly, 
next to the redemption of our character, we need the 
renovation of our condition. Better were it for any 
man "had he never been born," than that he should 
live and die unimproved. 

What then ? If the lofty spirit, and if the improv- 
ing design, disclose not the cause of the evil, where 
shall we find it ? Is it to be found in the plan which 
has been adopted and pursued ? For the glory of God 
and for the good of mankind, the prompt and decisive 
answer is given — Aye, here is the cause ! the true and 
only cause ! 

Draw near, then, ye rulers and people : ye teachers 
and scholars of the world ! Princes ! dash your dim 
diadems on the stones ! Sages ! trample your faded 
laurels in the dust ! When ye were children, ye spake 
as children, understood as children, thought as chil- 
dren : but, long ere this, ye should have become men, 
and put away childish things. Alas ! Ye are children 
still ! Sit down, then, with the docility of children, at 
the feet of Truth. Look, listen and learn. Here is 
the worth of your boasted wisdom. To think that the 
perfection of man is to be found in disobedience to 
God — this is the wisdom of the world ! To think that 
our divine destiny is to be attained by following the 
lead of the devil — this is the wisdom of the world! 
To think that heaven is to be opened to our vision by 
means that make us hide in the bushes with shame, 
and that the splendid garments of celestial royalty are 



280 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

to be won by acts which render even fig-leaf aprons a 
provided miracle of mercy— £A4- is the wisdom of the 
world! To think, next, that the mnrder of God's 
true worshipers, the abandonment of all worship, the 
building of cities, the pitching of tents, the playing 
on harp and organ, the working in brass and iron, the 
indulgence of sensual lusts, the pursuit of fame, the 
increase of power, the practice of violence, and such 
an utter corruption of the "way," or government of 
God, as to occasion the flooding of the globe and the 
drowning of the world, is the best method of improv- 
ing the condition of our race — this is the wisdom of 
the world ! To think, after all this, that such results, 
of nearly two thousand years' experience, furnish no 
lesson deserving to be remembered; and, therefore, 
that, to renew and multiply such absurdities and ini- 
quities, for nearly four thousand years more, is still the 
readiest mode of securing what ever has been, and ever 
must be, only the farther removed from us by every 
advance in the ruinous process — this is the wisdom of 
the world ! To discredit the true, dishonor the right, 
and forget the certain; to believe the false, perform 
the wrong, and expect the impossible — this is the wis- 
dom of the world ! To be vain of all foolery, proud 
of all knavery, greedy of all deviltry, and careless or 
glad of all misery — this is the wisdom of the world ! 
In a word, to think that men become "as gods," by 
making God even less than men : to think that man 
knows everything, and God knows nothing; that man 
can do everything, and God do nothing; and that man 
is everything, and God is nothing — this, aye, this is 
the wisdom of the world ! 

Such, then, has been the actual demonstration of sin. 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 281 

PART II. 

In the opening of the subject, it was stated, that the 
two main events, in the history of the world, are these : 
the introduction or sin and the atonement for sin. 

For the sake of a better understanding of the boasted 
wisdom of the world — that wisdom which opposes the 
wisdom of God, and particularly the doctrine and fact 
of the atonement — we have reviewed the progress of 
the great demonstration of sin — the manifest depravity, 
folly, and weakness of the world for nearly six thousand 
years ! ISTo wonder that such a world, in the excellency 
of its pride and vanity, contemns the plan of salvation ! 
But, how contemptible is its contempt ! How infinitely 
less than nothing ! And yet, in remembrance of the 
divine author of the plan of salvation — how awful is 
such scorn! 

Let us turn, therefore, to the proper contemplation of 
this plan. Let us look at it in the way intimated as 
our privilege — that is, as God looks at it. Let us 
notice its true and sublime contrast to all the littlenesses 
of human infirmity— its glorious indications of divine 
goodness, wisdom and power. 

The object of the Deity is announced in the very 
title of the plan. It is the plan of salvation. The 
devil had wrought ruin: and the object of God was to 
" destroy the works of the devil. ' ' All human interests, 
of body and soul, of character and condition, as per- 
taining to earth and heaven, to time and eternity — ■ 
were forfeited by the first transgression. The actual, 
and, more especially, the prospective importance of 
these interests, was fully known to God alone : and his 
perfect goodness prompted him to seek their entire 



282 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

and everlasting rescue. The individual mind, in its 
exercise of the most peerless gifts, has never yet 
imagined the real greatness of this object: and, of 
course, the social mind, in its noblest variety of expan- 
sions and illuminations, has never completely compre- 
hended it. In comparison with it, the objects of 
worldly ambition are unworthy even of the most 
dreamy recollection. God himself will require the 
whole of eternity for its illustration ! 

The principle of the plan is the next consideration — 
the principle that controls the operations of the plan 
in the accomplishment of its object. This principle, 
of necessity, was determined by the character of the 
law, the violation of which made some redeeming 
interposition indispensable. That law was, a specific 
and imperative prohibition, with a positive and inevi- 
table penalty. The prohibition was broken : and, that 
moment, the spirit of the law, in all the solemnity of 
its high office, rose up before the throne, and, in the 
name of him who sat upon it, and in the name of the 
moral universe — everywhere affected by the act — 
invoked the fatal retribution. Death was incurred: 
and, therefore, death had to be inflicted. It was not 
possible for God himself to withhold the doom. As 
though sworn to an unalterable challenge, the law 
stood immovable, uttering only this one word — 

ATONEMENT ! 

This, then, was the principle destined to control the 
practical developments of the plan of redemption, viz : 
the principle of atonement. "Without atonement, the 
Almighty was as helpless as the sinner. It is of vital 
importance, that this truth be distinctly understood, 
and profoundly appreciated. The perfection of God' 
nature : the honor of his government : and the happi- 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 283 

ness of his empire, alike, unchangeably, and without 
possibility of change, demanded atonement. The 
first step toward salvation could not be taken without 
it: and the last must be entirely dependent upon it. 
It was the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega, 
the sum and substance, the all in all of the scheme. 
With this, it might almost be said that the sinner 
would become as strong as the Almighty — for then the 
rule would be: "All things are possible to him that 
believeth." Atonement supplied — the law would be 
vindicated, and man might be saved. 

The plan, itself, is next to be considered — the con- 
trivance, adopted for the practical application of this 
principle to the attainment of the intended object. 
Several remarkable provisions distinguished this plan. 
See ! As the atonement was to be made by death — 
the plan provided, first of all, an agent in a nature 
which might die. Again: as the atonement was to 
be made for man — the plan provided an agent in the 
nature of man. Again: as no atonement could be 
made by a sinful man — the plan provided a man with- 
out sin. Again: as no sinless man could spring from 
sinful parents — the plan provided that such an one 
should be reproduced by divine power. Again : as the 
law required that a sinless nature should be demon- 
strated by perfect obedience — the plan provided that 
its elect agent, enduring multiplied and diversified 
temptations, should, nevertheless, remain "holy, harm- 
less, undefiled, separate from sinners," by his example, 
as well as by his sacrifice, "magnifying the law and 
making it honorable." Finally, as the very purpose 
of his mission was to be thus vicariously sacrificial — 
the plan provided, that, notwithstanding his glorious 
nature and benevolent object, his condition should be 



284 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

one of unresisting and uncomplaining humiliation and 
suffering — "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with 
grief." 

The fulfillment of the plan is the next consideration. 
This depended, not upon any human contingency, 
but, upon the ordination of God: and, therefore, was 
as certain in intention as it could he made by execution. 
Moreover, the efficacy of the plan was to result, not 
from the fact and manner of the atonement being 
known to mankind : but, from the fact of its being 
decreed and made by the will, and in the sight, of God. 
On these accounts, it was not necessary that the plan 
should be actually fulfilled immediately after the first 
transgression : not necessary that it should be fulfilled 
in the very scene of the first transgression : not neces- 
sary that it should be fulfilled in the personal presence 
of the first transgressors: and not necessary that its 
fulfillment should be clearly anticipated by the great 
majority of men living before its occurrence; or even 
communicated, in this life, to the great majority who 
should come after it. Various reasons might be offered 
to sustain the propriety of these statements : but, it is 
enough to say, that they present truths which are 
illustrated and confirmed by the facts which have trans- 
pired in the progressive development of the plan — 
facts recorded in all history, and more especially in the 
sacred history, devoted, by express inspiration, to their 
faithful perpetuation. 

See! The atonement was not made immediately 
after the first transgression — but, on the contrary, four 
thousand years were allowed to intervene ! It was not 
made in the scene of the first transgression, nor in the 
presence of the transgressors themselves, nor even in 
the same condition of the natural world : but, on the 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 285 

contrary, in a distant region, in an exceedingly differ- 
ent presence, and after many and great physical, as 
well as moral, revolutions. It was not properly antici- 
pated by the great majority of men who lived prior to 
its consummation: nor has it been communicated to 
the great majority of those who have lived since its 
completion. In remembrance of the general condition 
of our race in all lands and ages, there can be no 
hesitancy in asserting, that only a very small minority 
of mankind have been informed of this most impor- 
tant event in the annals of the world. 

Notwithstanding these facts, however, I am fully 
prepared to affirm, that the genuine, gracious, saving 
influence of the atonement — not depending on mere 
earthly accidents — has been realized, to some extent, 
though the reason of it may have been entirely unknown, 
by every human being on the globe. Never lived an 
individual, from the patriarch of near a thousand 
years down to the babe of a single breath : and never 
was known a social compact, from the feeblest family 
alliance to the mightiest of imperial nations : however 
diversified by characteristics of virtue or vice ; or, by 
circumstances of joy or sorrow, triumph or defeat, 
glory or shame — never one that has not experienced, 
in some way, and to some degree, the advantages of 
this great provision. 

Now, if you please, mark me well. See! In the 
contemplation of G-od— - as in the subsequent progress 
of all history — we plainly discover the operations of 
two great systems, both of which are designed to exhibit 
the results of the atonement. I mean, of course, the 
systems of a general and a special providence. 

The object of the general providence of God appears 
to have been this — to keep sin in restraint. Sinners 



286 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

have multiplied far beyond all that we can believe, in 
remembrance of the fatal tendencies of sin, would 
have been possible — had it not been for the restraining 
providence which has been exercised over all genera- 
tions. By natural agencies, sin has been restrained : 
by changes of the structure, climate, and productions 
of the globe ; by repeated and great abridgements of 
the term of life; by the terrors of pestilence and 
famine ; by the ravages of storm and earthquake ; and 
by innumerable other causes. In like manner, sin has 
been restrained by spiritual causes. By the involve- 
ment of personal with social interests ; by the effects 
of the counsel, example, and superior condition of the 
less vicious upon the more vicious; by the laws of 
States, enacted for mutual protection against common 
temptations; by even superstition and idolatry — the 
vain devices of ignorant but remorseful consciences — 
evils counteracting, perhaps, still greater evils; and, 
far above all, by the searching presence and subduing 
majesty of the Spirit of God, arousing and exciting 
conscience, all over the world, and through all the 
lapse of time — sin has been restrained. True, as far 
as was right and expedient, indulgences have always 
and everywhere been blended with restrictions. Sun, 
moon, and stars rise and set, burn and shine, for all. 
The winds blow, and the waters flow, for all. The 
cloud showers, and the soil flowers, for all. Personal 
enjoyments, home endearments, and public festivals, 
charm and enliven all. And so, a race of beings, 
which, in all probability, would have been exhausted 
by its iniquities, or destroyed by suicidal violence, 
thousands of years ago — had it been left to itself, with 
its passions entirely unchecked, and its pursuits entirely 
uncontrolled: still multiplies and distributes its hun- 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 287 

dreds of millions of mortal immortals, over myriads 
of mountains, and vales, and plains, on all the conti- 
nents and islands of the earth. All this is the result 
of the atonement! The grand system of a general 
providence restrains within the limits of self-preserva- 
tion, at least, the race for which Jesus died. 

The design of the special providence of God seems 
to have been two-fold. Its first object has been, to 
keep the sinner in hope. To the elect subjects of this 
system — for surely nothing is plainer than this social 
election, the election of a part for the good of the 
whole — to the elect subjects of this special providence, 
I say, have been committed, in all ages, for the ulti- 
mate advantage of the world, the continually progres- 
sive and increasingly vivid indications of the purposes, 
principles and plans of the divine administration. The 
purest and wisest, the happiest and most useful of man- 
kind, appear in this predestined succession. Patriarchs 
and kings, legislators and judges, orators and poets, 
historians and prophets, priests and warriors, the rulers 
and champions of nations, the teachers and exemplars 
of the race, all pass before us. To them, the promises 
of the atonement are given. To them, the types and 
symbols of the atonement are given. To them the 
national prefigurations, the theocratic anticipations, of 
the atonement are given. In their walks, the voice of 
God is heard. To their tents, the radiant messengers 
of heaven descend. On their tabernacle, the mystic 
pillar rests, shading the splendor of the day, and 
shining through the gloom of the night; with its angel, 
ever watching the altar, sprinkled with frequent blood. 
Into their temple, with a cool flame, and a slow ma- 
jesty, gently glided the glorious Shekinah, as though 
the Highest, himself, preferred the seat of mercy on 



288 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

earth to the throne of power in heaven. It was on 
their cliffs and in their glens, along their deserts and 
among their cities, by their palace-gates and through 
their cloistered courts, that the trumpets of the pro- 
phets uplifted sonorous voices, and enchanted sky and 
landscape with the plaintive music of the coming, suf- 
fering, dying Saviour's love and praise. 

And yet, as already intimated, not for themselves 
alone were all these blessings given. Here, was their 
grand mistake. Here is one of the most common, 
egregious and mischievous errors of all the subjects of 
a special providence. The Israelites — to whom, chiefly, 
allusion is now made — were exceedingly fond of this 
delusion, and, therefore, were frequently admonished, 
in the strongest terms, not to indulge it. They were 
assured, that God had chosen them, not because of 
their own worth, or for the exclusive promotion of 
their own prosperity— for they were stubborn and rebel- 
lious, and, therefore, of necessity, had to be often and 
severely chastened — but for the good of the world! 
They were merely constituted the channel, within 
which the intelligence at first communicated to the world 
in whole, was, for the time being, concentrated, and 
through which it was conveyed toward its re-issue, for 
re-diffusion throughout the whole world again. 

Let me illustrate this. Suppose the long-projected 
enterprise of a grand ship canal across the Isthmus of 
Panama, uniting the Atlantic and Pacific waters, had, 
at last, been really executed. Suppose that, in conse- 
quence of this great work, a dense population had col- 
lected there: that natural difficulties had been sub- 
dued by superior art: that the marshes had been 
drained, the forests cleared, the fields planted, and the 
mountains graded or tunneled: that good roads had 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 289 

been opened in all directions, stretching through the 
swamps, traversing the vales, and winding up the 
hills — with a thousand bridges, over-arching the brooks, 
leaping across the torrents, and springing from cliff to 
cliff: that cottages were smoking among all the rocks, 
and towns reposing on all the plains, and a great me- 
tropolis expanding and exulting in the sunshine and 
sea-breeze of either coast. And now, suppose that the 
settled inhabitants of that wonderfully improved local- 
ity should claim, for themselves, the whole advantage 
of the mighty change ! How would the happy sailors, 
relieved from their long conflicts with the tempests of 
Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, laugh at their 
folly ! How would the hardy heroes — whose prows 
have so often been frozen into motionless captivity 
amidst continents of polar ice, whither they ventured 
in hope of the North West passage — smile at their 
delusion! How would the pitiless world scoff and 
hiss at their vanity and pride ! How would the white- 
winged angels of commerce, in remembrance of the 
fleets of Europe and America, and of the trade and 
treasures of China and the Indies, and of the ports, 
and capitals, and kingdoms enriched and adorned by 
the new achievement ; and especially, in remembrance 
of the day when the old and hoary oceans first joined 
hands on the altar of the Andes, and swore to main- 
tain, to the latest generation, their sublime covenant 
for the peace, prosperity, and glory of the whole 
brotherhood of man — oh! how would the spirits of 
land, and sea, and sky— of the fountain, the wind, and 
the surge — chuckle among the peaks, whisper and 
whistle through the air, and foam and thunder on the 
strand, in sharpest and sheerest derision, in deepest 

and proudest disdain! 

19 



290 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

So foolish would it be to limit to the range of the 
Levitical institutions, or to the people among whom 
they were established, the advantages of the redeeming 
intelligence embodied in them. They only brought it 
down from the patriarchal world before them, to the 
Christian world after them. Their office was conferred 
for the good of mankind. And so it is, in all similar 
cases. 

But, the special providence by which a sinful race 
was thus trained to hope — was not thwarted. The 
hope was fulfilled. The due time came: and the 
predicted agent of atonement made his advent. 

And now see! Here comes the recapitulation! 
Here rises the divine contrast ! 

How did he come? First, with what spirit? The 
orignal spirit? — the ambitious spirit? — the upward, 
heavenly, divine tendency? Hallelujah! he did so 
come! Lift high the Christmas chant — in double 
music of heart and voice. For — in Christ, this spirit 
was perfect The second Adam had more of it than 
the first: and more than all the descendants of the 
first. In him, it was the true spirit — looking, not only 
to the throne of God, but, to God himself, on the 
throne : satisfied with nothing less than identification 
and communion with him. 

Again : How did he come ? That is, secondly, with 
what design? The original design? — the universal 
and perpetual design ? — the design of improvement? — 
of exaltation? Hallelujah! he did so come! Higher 
than the highest, beat his heart of hearts ! He came, 
as it is expressly declared, for "the joy set before 
him!" — joy, pure and lasting! — joy, ineffable and 
ecstatic! — joy, "set before him" — not by the tempter, 
but by God himself! A joy full of God! — the joy of 



THE ONLY SAYING NAME. 291 

bringing "many sons to glory:" of transforming sin- 
ners into saints, saints into angels, and angels, I might 
almost add, into gods: the earth itself, meanwhile, 
regaining Eden, and Eden exchanging only for heaven. 

Again: How did he come? That is, thirdly, on 
what plan ? The original plan ? — the plan of worldly 
wisdom ? — the plan of faith in the devil ? — the plan of 
treason to the Almighty ? — the plan of seeking to be 
" as gods," by disobedience to the law of God ! Thrice 
hallelujah ! he did not so come ! Such wisdom was 
folly with him. He came on the Father's plan. The 
object of this plan was his object — salvation. The 
principle of this plan was his principle — atonement! 
And all its practical provisions met in him — as he was 
mortal, human, holy, obedient, and surrounded by the 
incidents of humiliation and wo. 

Lift high the Christmas chant once more ! Join the 
first angel ! Join the whole host of angels ! Join the 
shepherds! Join the star! Join the wise men! 
Collect the after anthems! Call up the venerable 
priest; and the aged prophetess; and the abashed 
doctors ; and the witnessing Baptist ; and the commis- 
sioned apostles; and the thousands of disciples; and 
the myriads of beneficiaries ; and the millions of specta- 
tors and auditors, whether friends or foes. Rehearse 
the marvels of his whole career — and tell me, if God 
in Christ hath not made foolish all the wisdom of the 
world ! 

If the season inspire you, indulge the inspiration. 
I, too, lay aside all scruples, and sympathize, this day, 
with the entire Christian world. I, too, draw near to 
the stable, and stoop to its lowly entrance, and stand 
by its simple manger. I, too, admire the confiding 
dignity and serene attentions of the foster father. I, 



292 THE ONLY SAVING NAME, 

too, am charmed by the pale beauty and seraphic rapture 
of the maiden mother. And I, too, am quite entranced, 
not, indeed, with 

"That trembling awe that dares not move," 

but, with a sort of 



Smiling "awe that" does "not move, 

And all the silent heaven of love," 

as I gaze at, and believe in, and welcome, and adore — 
until, at last, with the dew-fall in my eyes, and the 
star shooting down into my heart, I drop upon my 
knees and worship — even as "all the angels" worship 
him — that dear little divinity — that blue-eyed baby 
embodiment of the blue heaven's creator — that rosy- 
cheeked and dimple-handed infantile disguise of him 
who planted the flower-bowers of Paradise, and flushed 
the face of the first morning that looked down upon 
its bloom — that auburn-browed darling, every hair in 
whose golden ringlets may be taken as a symbol of 
the curling and shining line of some planetary orbit, 
gilding the far away darkness of immensity, in obedi- 
ence to the wisdom which hides within that brow- — 
that — what shall I call him more? — that sweet little 
Jesus ! for so the season inspires me : that miniature 
Saviour, in whom, already, without restriction of 
essence or suspension of functions, u dwelleth all the 
fullness of the Godhead bodily." Oh! tell me, tell 
me, if there be aught of the wisdom of the world in 
all this! 

But Christmas is a deception, without Good Friday. 
Anticipate the day of death. To what end was Jesus 
born, and for what cause did he come into the world ? 
Hark ! " To this end was I born, and for this cause 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 293 

came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto 
the truth:' What truth? The whole truth of the 
plan of salvation. And how bear witness to it ? Not 
only by his instructions, and not only by his miracles ; 
but, more particularly, by his sufferings and death. 
He came to die — and he did die. He preferred 
humanity to divinity, earth to heaven, servitude to 
sovereignty, scoffing to thanksgiving, Calvary to Zion, 
and the cross to the throne — on purpose that he might 
die ! Surrounded by foes, suspended between thieves, 
and overshadowed with supernatural gloom — he exulted 
to die ! The cloud passing away — the thieves hanging 
faint at his side — the group below watching in silence — 
the guilty city again looking forth from its dawning 
gates — he, happier than Pilate and Herod on their 
thrones — happier than the High Priest in his palace — 
happier than the Sanhedrim in the temple — happier 
than the people in their myriads of homes — happier 
than the happiest on earth — ay, even happier than the 
happiest in heaven — shouted from the "accursed 
tree," "It is finished!" — bowed his head! upon his 
bosom, and gave up the ghost. This was the plan ! 

"0 for this love let rocks and hills 
Their lasting silence break ! 
And all harmonious human tongues 
Their Saviour's praises speak! 

"Angels, assist our mighty joys; 
Strike all your harps of gold ; 
But when you raise your highest notes, 
His love can ne'er be told! " 

But, once more — Mow did he come? That is, 
fourthly, with what result f The original result ? — the 
effect of universal and unceasing disappointment? — ■ 



294 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

heart-crushing, man-dishonoring, and even God- 
reproaching disappointment? A thousand hallelujahs 
might herald the answer — He did not so come ! The 
result was as God-like as the design. 

See! Atonement was made! Salvation was se- 
cured ! Witness the first proof in Christ's own exalta- 
tion: "Being in the form of God, and thinking it not 
robbery to be equal with God, he made himself of no 
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
and was made in the likeness of men, and, being 
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and 
became obedient unto death, even the death of the 
cross: Wherefore' — see! here is the wisdom of God! 
here is the result of obedience to God! here is the 
true method of becoming " as gods !" — " Wherefore, God 
also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name 
which is above every name ; that, at the name of Jesus, 
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things 
in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every 
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the 
glory of God the Father." 

Witness, also, the second proof in our own exaltation : 
for the exaltation of Christ is the symbol and pledge 
of our own entire and eternal redemption. Wherefore, 
we unite with the grateful and happy Apostle in the 
cry — "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, 
hath begotton us again, unto a lively hope" — or the 
hope of life, instead of the dread of death — " by the 
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an 
inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth 
not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept, by 
the power of God, through faith, unto salvation, ready 
to be revealed in the last time." See that! There is 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 295 

the result of God's plan. How different from the 
effect of the wisdom of the world ! 

And what now? Preach! preach! preach!. But, 
what shall we preach? Preach the Name! the One 
Great Name ! the Name in which there is salvation ! 
the "Only Name under heaven given among men, 
whereby we must be saved !" the name of Jesus ; Jesus, 
the Christ; Jesus, the Christ, our blessed Lord and 
Saviour ! 

And how shall we preach him? In the way of 
worldly wisdom? — as a city-builder? — as a nation- 
founder? — as a world-conqueror? Never; no, never! 
What contemptible littleness is here ! How the poor, 
sinful race mourns and perishes, on any such pla&L as 
this ! Away with the wisdom of the world ! Away 
with its guilt, and grief, and pride, and disappointment, 
and shame ! Give me Jesus ! "For I determined not to 
know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him 
crucified." This is the peerless name. Man did not 
give it. Man could not give it. Away with man's 
names! He cannot give us one, which, in this con- 
nexion, deserves to be heard.. Here is the name that 
God has given ! given it to me ■■! given it to you ! given 
it to all men under heaven!, given it as the name 
whereby we may "be saved!" "Neither is there sal- 
vation in any other." 

Having thus noticed the first and chief proposition — 
That God has given to the world the name of Jesus 
Christ of Nazareth, whom the Jews crucified, and whom 
he raised from the dead, as the name whereby men 
must be saved : it were now in order to consider the 
other two, viz: — That there is none other name so 
given under heaven or among men ; and, That there 
is not, therefore, salvation in any other. But, these 



296 THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 

were not intended for enlarged discussion. They 
resemble mere inferences from the first; and may 
be briefly treated in the form of an appropriate con- 
clusion. 

Analyze the second. Notice its exclusiveness, dis- 
tinctiveness, and cumulative emphasis. There is none 
other name — not even one. So given — by the same 
authority and with the same object. Under heaven-^ 
the most expanded and perfect natural comprehension 
which it is possible to make. Or among men— the 
most complete and various social comprehension. 

True, other names abounded, and were mighty, when 
this statement was first uttered. Baal, in the east ; Jupi- 
ter, in the west; and all their correlative hosts. In like 
manner, other names abound, and are mighty now. 
Paganism has Fohi, Budha, Brahma, and their innu- 
merable subordinates. Magianism and Mohammedan- 
ism cling to the Fire-Priest and the Sword-Prophet. 
Judaism remembers Moses, and hopes for the unrevealed 
Messiah. And even Christianism — including Grecian- 
ism, with its Asian and African allies, and Eomanism, 
and Protestantism- — superstitiously cherishes many other 
names : some, names of angels ; some, names of saints ; 
some, names of fathers ; some, names of councils ; some, 
names of creeds; some, names of sacraments; and so 
on, almost without number. To the ancient names, 
thousands of millions of mankind bowed down. To 
the modern names, other thousands of millions have 
bowed down. Hundreds of millions bow down to 
them at this very moment. But, the most of these 
names were given by the devil — to degrade and destroy. 
And, even if God gave the others, it was not that they 
should be used as symbols of salvation. No saving 
merit is embodied in the best of them. 



THE ONLY SAVING NAME. 29T 

And here is the specific force of the third announce- 
ment — There is not, therefore, salvation in any other. 
They are not without power. It has been said that 
"the world is ruled by names:" and no proofs of the 
fact are so strong as those which are derived from 
religious connexions. Sin is in them, in all its ele- 
ments, forms, and degrees: and, therefore, evil is in 
them, as the consequence of sin, in all its elements, 
forms and degrees. But — salvation from sin and evil 
is not in them. 

"What then ? Who shall declare the destiny of the 
great majority of our race ? Behold ! they have trusted 
in names which cannot save them ! Alas for them I 
But, must they, therefore, of absolute necessity, all be 
lost ? To most benevolent persons, the supposition of 
such a doom is intolerable. What ! All lost ! Pagans, 
Mohammedans, Jews, and all classes of unevangelical 
Christians, lost, forever lost, because of their trust in 
worthless names ! Never ! never ! And yet, where is 
the hope of their salvation? Take away all their 
reliances, and what is left ? 

u Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!" 
There is another name, a common name, an infinitely 
higher and holier name, an entirely and eternally 
saving name. Though Baal and Jupiter fail them: 
though Fohi, Budha, and Brahma fail them: though 
Zoroaster and Mohammed fail them: though Moses 
and the unknown Messiah fail them : though oriental 
and occidental hierarchies fail them: though angels, 
saints, and fathers fail them : though councils, creeds, 
and sacraments fail them : though no pardon, no peace, 
no purity, no death-triumph, no heavenly inheritance, 
no element of redemption, of any kind, can be derived 
from any of these sources : there is one name which 



298 THE ONLY SAVING NAME, 

cannot fail them. It is the name of Jesus Christ of 
Nazareth: "the same yesterday, to-day, and forever:" 
the "Son" whom "the Father sent to be the Saviour 
of the world." What then? Shall all men be saved? 
Alas ! we cannot affirm this. But, whether heard or 
unheard among men, the name of Jesus is ceaseless 
music at the throne which overlooks the world ; and, 
to Him that sits upon the throne, and constantly and 
graciously surveys the world, it is the accepted symbol 
of an atonement co-extensive with sin. Wherever this 
atonement can be applied, it is applied. Wherever sal- 
vation is possible, it becomes actual. Wherever a 
sinner will let God save him, God, for Christ's sake, 
is sure to save him. If, resisting God, he perish, it is 
his own fault. How many thus finally and fatally 
resist, no man can tell. Both in the Bible and in the 
world this subject is a fearful contemplation. Men 
willfully make it so. But, on God's side, all is light 
and love, mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, 
grace and glory, and diffusive salvation. Let us, 
humbly and gratefully, avail ourselves of his goodness : 
and may the Only Saving I^ame soon become the Only 
Trusted Name in all the earth* Even so : Come, Lord 
Jesus ! 



LOVE: 

THE APOSTLE— NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 



"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not 
love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." 

1 Cor. xiii: 1. 

The Apostle ! — the messenger of Christ to the whole 
world! — the highest human title ever brought from 
heaven or announced on earth ! 

The Apostle ! — the incumbent of the noblest office 
in the Mediatorial kingdom ! — the collective centre of 
all the gifts of the Holy Ghost ! 

The Apostle ! — distinguished by the vision of Christ, 
the call of Christ, the instruction of Christ, the infalli- 
bility of Christ, the omnipotence of Christ — and 
intrusted with the universal and controlling superin- 
tendency of the work of Christ ! 

The Apostle ! — without predecessor, as superior to 
all who came before : and without successor, as equally 
superior to all who come after ! 

Here, then, is the position at which we open our 
sublime contemplation — the very climacteric point of 
the glorious ministry of the divine Redeemer. From 
this position, which is close to the throne of Christ, we 
shall gradually descend — passing the prophet, the 
teacher, the miracle-worker, the healer, and the alms- 
giver — until, having exhausted all authority and all 
property, we come to the exhaustion of life itself, at 
the stake of the martyr, close by the cross of Christ : 

(299) 



300 THE APOSTLE — 

and there, with the ashes of sacrifice at our feet, and 
the memory of the upper panorama of magnificence 
and splendor and power in our minds, we shall re-affirm 
the infinitely impressive truth, that, from first to last, 
from the highest to the lowest, through the whole 
range of honor and dishonor, there is nothing with- 
out love ! 

The original Apostles were twelve in number — 
corresponding with the twelve tribes of Israel, and all 
their correlative symbols; such as the twelve pillars of 
the altar, the twelve precious stones of the breast-plate, 
and the twelve loaves of shew-bread: corresponding, 
also, with the twelve stars, twelve gates, twelve angels, 
and twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem. One 
of these, however, like a precious stone, plucked from 
the breast-plate, and cast before swine : like a loaf of 
the shew-bread, taken from the holy table, and thrown 
to the dogs : like a pillar of the altar, subverted and 
broken : like a foundation-stone, removed from the 
wall of the city of God : like one of the gates of pearl, 
lifted from its golden staple, and dashed into a thousand 
fragments : like a star, glittering far above the turrets, 
but suddenly falling from its sphere, and fading into 
darkness: or, rather, like one of the angels, seized 
upon the very threshold of the portal, and plunged 
headlong into perdition : so, one of these, the original 
Apostles, more sadly than any of the cited examples, 
forsook the throne which archangels might have envied, 
and buried his crown of glory beneath the cinders of 
the coast where roll and foam forever the waves of 
quenchless fire. 

But I may not dwell on the one, faithless : or the 
eleven, faithful: or the manner in which the latter 
deemed it expedient to supply the vacancy occasioned 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 301 

by the treachery of the former. The group, as com- 
pleted, confirmed, and irradiated with all heavenly 
inspirations, was the peerless group of the human race. 
If John the Baptist was at least the equal of any one 
born before him : and if the very least in the kingdom 
of heaven be greater than he : then, surely, it may be 
acknowledged that when we look upon the elect group 
of the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, we see, 
indeed, alike illustrious and immortal, the chiefs and 
champions of mankind. 

I hasten, however, to invite your attention to the 
one, additional, extraordinary, and, in many respects, 
incomparable Apostle, in whose history we may find 
the best example of the dignity and endowments of 
the office. I mean, of course, the great Apostle to the 
Gentiles, the manly aod godly Paul. 

I love to think of the pre-existence and pre-arrange- 
ments of our Lord and Saviour. Nothing, scarcely, 
can be more interesting than the precursory intima- 
tions in regard to the appearance of Christ himself. 
First, he was promised in the guise of a Man : then as 
a Hebrew : then as an Israelite : then as a Judean : and 
then as of the city of David, of the house of David, and 
of a virgin daughter of David. "We cannot suppose 
similar selections to have been of similar importance, in 
relation to the Apostles : and, therefore, as might be 
expected, we do not find such recorded. Still, we can 
hardly doubt that some determinations were made, and 
their fulfillment provided for, in these connexions. 

The Jewish Apostles, it would seem, were all Gali- 
leans : all born on the shores, or in the neighborhood, 
of the Lake of Gennesaret. Moreover, they were all, 
or generally, occupied, in early life, with humble, 
active, out-door employments. These answered excel- 



302 THE APOSTLE — 

lent preparatory purposes. They made them familiar, 
on the one hand, with the revelation of God in 
nature—the grand facts of which are so prominent and 
impressive, that no commentary, however erroneous, 
can much impair their influence: and, on the other 
hand, they shut them up, pretty closely, in literature, 
to the revelation of God in the Bible, so preventing 
them from becoming familiar with the traditional 
records, which, in this relation, so strongly tended to 
obscure the sacred volume. Their faculties, therefore, 
it is presumed, were so developed and disciplined as to 
fit them far better for their ultimate instrumentality, 
as the instructed and anointed witnesses of Christ, 
than they would have been, if they had been born 
among the palaces of Zion, and educated within the 
cloisters of the temple. So much for the training of 
the Jewish Apostles. 

It was not so, however, with the training of the 
great Apostle to the Gentiles. I turn away from Pales- 
tine, from Phoenicia, and from all Syria: and enter 
Asia Minor, through the " gates of Cilicia." I come 
to the banks of a cold-flowing river, descending from 
adjacent and lofty mountains. I see an ancient and 
renowned city, not far from the coast of the Mediter- 
ranean, and with the river running through it, on its 
way from the mountains to the sea. This city was 
founded by Sardanapalus, king of Assyria. Triptole- 
mus strengthened it by an Argive colony. Sandan, 
the Ethiopian, devoted his wealth to its improvement. 
The younger Cyrus was once here. Alexander the 
Great has been here. Julius Csesar has been here. 
Cicero, great as a governor, as well as an orator, has been 
here. Here Mark Antony first beheld the beauty of 
Cleopatra. On these fair waters, her golden galley 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 303 

spread its sails of purple silk, and dropped its silver oars 
to the sound of witching music, and gently bore her 
gay pavilion and gayer person to charm the eyes, and 
cheat the heart, and unnerve the arm of the master of 
the world. Here, too, the wiser and triumphant 
Augustus, lavished imperial honors and treasures, to 
elevate the dignity of the people and enhance the bril- 
liance of the scene. 

Thus, then, in succession, Assyrian, Argivian, Ethio- 
pian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman — it would seem 
that this favored city, constantly extending its com- 
merce, and multiplying the elements of its prosperity, 
must have gathered to itself the arts and sciences, the 
philosophy, literature and eloquence, the mythologies 
and religions, of nearly all nations. So it has ! And 
now, nothing is requisite, but that the Almighty shall 
embody, in the midst of these circumstances, one 
great soul — a soul that shall open its faculties to the 
influences of those silent and immovable mountains, 
of this cool and bracing river, of that rolling and 
sounding sea, of this pure and splendid sky, and of 
all these varied and quickening social energies — 
nothing but this is requisite, to provide a power, which, 
by the aid of a more immediate and spiritual blessing, 
shall make the globe its monument, and mark it all 
over with memorials of matchless deeds, before which 
all royal arches of conquest shall crumble into dust, 
and which will only shine the brighter when the fires 
of the last day shall break from their long restraint. 

And is there no need for such a phenomenon ? See ! 
Far away to the southeast, some two years ago, the 
meteor burned over the manger of Bethlehem. At 
this moment, it may be, the babe of Bethlehem — the 
little fugitive Messiah — plays upon the bank of the 



304 THE APOSTLE — 

river of Egypt, watched alike by his virgin mother, 
seated in the shade of the palm, and by his Divine 
Father serenely enthroned in the cloudless sky. At 
the same time, the huts of the fishermen, along the 
shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, are merry with the 
voices and bright with the eyes of the young apostles 
who are destined to attend the personal ministry of 
their Lord, and become his special witnesses to his 
chosen people. But, where is the provision for the 
fulfillment of the prophecies in relation to the calling 
of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God? Surely, 
there is a need, yet unsupplied. 

Behold, then, in this rare city of the northwest, 
almost within the shadow of Mount Taurus, and among 
this magnificent variety of the homes and haunts of 
heathenism, Judaism, by the providence of God, has 
secured a highly respectable representation. Here, in 
a word, is the appointed place; and there, in that 
Jewish mansion, God has embodied the great soul 
which is destined to be the chief servant of his Son, 
in the form of the free-born infant, Saul of Taesus. 

But, I cannot thus continue to expatiate on his 
history. I am warranted, however, in such an opening 
of it; for the Apostle himself declared, in after life, 
that "it pleased God to separate" him from his very 
birth, "and call" him " by his grace, to reveal Ms Son 
in" him, "that" he "might preach him among the 
heathen" so that, when he was afterward called by 
Christ himself, it was in fulfillment of the original 
purpose : and such a purpose seems to intimate to us, 
very plainly, one of the reasons, at least, why, though 
a Jew was preferred for its accomplishment, he should 
be born beyond the precincts of the Holy Land — not 
in Judea, nor yet even in Galilee, but away in Cilicia, 



NOTHING- WITHOUT LOVE. 305 

among all the assembled distinctions of the heathen 
world. 

I have spoken of him as a great soul : and this for 
the sake of vindicating the prerogatives of such a soul. 
Strabo is reported as representing the youth of Tarsus, 
" after having well laid the foundations of literature 
and science in their own schools at home," as demon- 
strating their zeal for learning by resorting to the most 
celebrated institutions abroad. Saul, however, as a 
" Hebrew of the Hebrews" — "a Pharisee, and the son 
of a Pharisee" — is supposed to have been confined, 
while at home, chiefly, if not exclusively, to a Jewish 
education : and when, according to the example of the 
.higher Gentile families, he, too, was sent abroad to 
perfect his education, instead of repairing to Athens 
or Rome, he went to Jerusalem, as desiring rather to 
become a Jewish Rabbi, than either a Grecian philoso- 
pher or a Roman orator. 

Still, who can doubt that his teeming susceptibilities 
were powerfully impressed by all the more prominent 
circumstances of that early position ? It is the preroga- 
tive of such a soul to open its capacity to the compre- 
hension of the whole circle of its relative existence. 
Even its apparent idleness may be only the calm 
intensity of universal and unobscured contemplation. 
All nature and all society, collecting at every point 
the memories of the past, the developments of the 
present, and the tendencies toward the future, lie 
exposed to its vision : and it silently attracts to itself 
the distinctive elements and controlling laws of the 
entire combination. So it becomes prepared for the 
after excitement of its thousand enthusiasms; the 

sublime and steady supremacy of its indomitable will ; 

20 



306 THE APOSTLE — 

and the successful execution of its Vast and multiplied 
enterprises. 

What though its home education be the training of 
truth, and all beyond is the delusion of falsehood? 
Its allegiance to the true cannot keep it insensible to 
the vicinity of the false. Bather, its holy estimate of 
the infinite superiority of truth is constantly sugges- 
tive of confirmatory comparisons : and where, espe- 
cially, the great majority of mankind are the victims 
of the false, the very sympathies which identify the 
generous nature with the whole brotherhood of hu- 
manity, prompt it to the mastery of every principle, 
and the appropriation of every fact, which may aid 
the aims of a noble and useful life. 

"When, therefore, I find the Apostle, in his later 
years, so often alluding, in his speeches and writings, 
to the philosophy and science, the poetry and eloquence 
of the Gentiles, I cannot but accept these facts as 
tokens of the early concentration, within his ample 
and discriminating consciousness, of all the important 
distinctions of his position. It was not necessary that 
he should be a student in heathen schools, to make 
this consummation. With such a spirit, it was the 
natural result of quick special perceptions, general 
sympathies, and systematic intuitions. Could he think 
of riches — and not recall the name of Sardanapalus, 
and all the treasures of the Orient, some nine hundred 
years before ? or forget the wealth of the West, and the 
gifts of Augustus, in his own day ? Could he think 
of courage — and not remember the bravery and the 
exploits of Alexander the Great and Julius Csesar? 
Could he think of pleasure — without the concurrent 
illustration of Antony and Cleopatra? Could he think 
of eloquence — without a thrill, as though Cicero were 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 307 

still at Tarsus, or the ghost of Demosthenes had crossed 
the ^Egean ? "What though he might compare with 
these the first king of Israel, whose name he bore; 
and the mightier David, and the magnificent Solomon, 
and the orators of inspiration, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Eze- 
kiel, and their compeers ? "Was it not the better for 
him, in prospect of his future sphere, to be able to 
make such comparisons? 

But now follow him more rapidly. This great soul — 
this myriad-minded and mighty-hearted youth — this 
Greek and Eoman Hebrew — this Jew and Gentile 
both — was transferred from Tarsus to Jerusalem. By 
this time, the Messiah had opened his mission ; gath- 
ered the Galilean Apostles around him ; and, it would 
seem, had even finished his work and ascended to 
heaven. If Christ, however, had still remained, in all 
probability this proud and fiery young Pharisee would 
have esteemed him the last person in all Palestine at 
whose feet to sit down as a pupil. He sought the most 
distinguished doctor of the law, the very " head of the 
college," the princely Gamaliel, and placed himself 
at his feet — doubtless in hope of one day sitting by his 
side, or filling his vacant throne. 

But, was Gamaliel himself inclined to be a Christian ? 
And, if he saw his impetuous scholar kindling with 
false zeal, did he say to him, as he said to the council, 
when the Apostles had been before them, "Refrain 
from these men, and let them alone ?" We know not: 
but, if he did, Saul must have despised his advice ; for, 
though he afterward declared that he was "taught 
according to the perfect manner of the law of the 
fathers, and was zealous toward God," he was con- 
strained to add, as if he had turned from Gamaliel 
with an intolerant and malicious temper — "And I per- 
secuted this way unto the death." 



308 THE APOSTLE — 

Behold, then, this finest specimen of the natural 
man — fully developed, highly disciplined, richly en- 
dowed — in all the glory of his youth, and in all the 
expansion of his pride and power, showing, in every 
movement, the inward and swelling force, the teeming 
and sparkling energies, of the blended elements of 
Tarsus and Jerusalem, breathed into his soul of souls 
by the spirit of ages ! 

Behold him! at large and at work — performing, 
like an angel, the task of a fiend! Behold him, at 
the head of his troop, the haughtiest of the haughty, 
checking his foaming and champing steed on the 
height overlooking Damascus. Little thinks he of the 
Form that so softly descends to meet him. Sis vision 
is charmed by the beauty of Damascus. But the eyes 
that shine over heaven are fixed on him. Sis hand 
points with rapture to the paradise of palaces. But 
the hand that wields the thunder of omnipotence, or 
lets loose, as it lists, the doves of mercy, is extended 
over him in judgment and in blessing. See ! the Holy 
One who is remembered as the babe of Bethlehem, 
the prattler of Egypt, the boy of Nazareth, the prophet 
of the Galilean Apostles, the crucified one of Calvary, 
the risen one of Olivet, the crowned one of Heaven, 
and the giver of the Holy Ghost : Jesus himself has 
met him. And how shall I tell the result ? I confess 
I do not know. I would fain intimate what I cannot 
fully express : that, by some divine power, the mere 
disclosure of whose presence made the sun turn pale — 
by some sort of spiritual electricity, which struck the 
persecutor to the ground, and yet left his intellect clear 
and his will free — the elements of all nature and all 
nations, collected within his glorious constitution, 
were instantly fused into a pure and simple medium, 
through which the light of the Holy Spirit, soon to be 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 309 

revealed in him, might shine forth, changing him from 
glory to glory, transfiguring him into, the image of his 
Lord, and making the apostle elect an Apostle in fact, 
with not a nation in the world from whom he had ever 
received a thought or an impulse to whom he was not 
commissioned to return, hearing "the fullness of the 
blessing of the gospel of Christ/' 

And now, attend to a new correspondency. "Why 
was he not arrested in Jerusalem ? "Why did not 
Christ reveal himself to him there ? or lead him forth 
to the shore of G-ennesaret, and call him to his office 
there ? "Am I not an Apostle ? " he inquired of these 
Corinthians. "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our 
Lord?" Ay, but when did he see him? "Last of 
all," is his own reply, "he was seen of me also, as of 
one born out of due time." And where did he see 
him ? Nowhere within the limits of the Holy Land ! 
Do you not see ? The great Apostle to the Gentiles 
was born among the Gentiles, and "born again" 
among the G-entiles! first, at Tarsus: next, at Da- 
mascus. 

But this was only the beginning of his official 
career. As a man — a mere natural man — -a man of 
vast and varied, but yet unsanctified capabilities, hea- 
thenism and Judaism had encompassed and impressed 
him by their utmost attractions : but it yet remained 
for Christianity to turn him to his proper and incom- 
parable uses. Having now received the vision of 
Christ, and the call of Christ, the other essentials of 
the apostolate were soon superadded. Think of the 
opening of his blinded eyes on a new world : the bap- 
tism of his body with water, and the filling of his soul 
with the Holy Ghost. Think of his prolonged and 
thorough instruction, by Christ himself, in all the con- 



310 THE APOSTLE 

nexions of the old and new covenants, and the ordi- 
nances and destiny of his boundless and endless em- 
pire. Think, in a word, of this grandest of all its 
distinctions, that, however diversified were the inferior 
gifts and subordinate offices of the Church, all gifts 
and all offices were concentrated in the apostolate, as 
the authoritative representative of Christ over all. 

Are there, indeed, as formerly enumerated, so many 
distinct gifts of the Spirit — wisdom, and knowledge, 
and faith, and healing, and miracles, and prophecy, 
and discernment of spirits, and tongues, and the inter- 
pretation of tongues ? And are there, indeed, as were 
also enumerated, just as many official appointments of 
the Son, to embody and exercise these gifts ? True : 
and yet it is also true, that whoever looks at the apos- 
tolate may see all in one ! And this was needful to 
their universal action and government. 

Behold, then, the fully developed and fully equipped 
Apostle ! combining the grandest selection of personal 
qualities and official endowments that ever adorned 
the globe ! Behold him ! standing apart, alone, sub- 
lime : contemplating the world as his area, and all time 
as the multiplier of the influences he is about to set in 
motion ! Behold his noble assumption of his duties, 
in that same eastern city— the Gentile Damascus. 
Follow him, by land and sea, from city to city, from 
province to province, from continent to continent: re- 
peatedly returning, as he does, to Jerusalem, and visit- 
ing every colonial synagogue ; yet ever turning away 
to his greater work, and appealing to the nations in 
whole. See him in Tarsus again : and go forth with 
him, in his new life, to Antioch, to Salamis, to Paphos, 
to Iconium, to Derbe, to Lystra, to Troas, to Philippi, 
to Thessalonica, to Berea, to Athens, to Corinth, to 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 311 

Ephesus, to Csesarea, and to Eome. Here, at last, in 
the metropolis of the Gentiles, he must die ! But see ! 

"The Word of Wisdom!" Hark! He speaks it 
" among them that are perfect ; yet not the wisdom of 
this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come 
to nought: but — the wisdom of God in a mystery, 
even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before 
the world unto our glory." 

"The Word of Knowledge!" Hark! He speaks 
this, also — proclaiming to the hitherto uninformed the 
truth "as it is in Jesus" — "determined not to know 
anything among" men, "save Jesus Christ and him 
crucified." 

"The Word of Faith!" Hark! He announces 
this, also — "in demonstration of the Spirit and of 
power: " That the faith of the feeble may "not stand 
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 

"The Gift of Healing!" See! the cripple at 
Lystra leaps up at his call ; the fallen youth at Troas 
arises as from the dead ; the unvisited sick, in Ephesus 
and around it, are cured by the missives of kindness; 
and the rude islanders of Melita start from their pal- 
lets of fever and pain, to bless the coming of their 
shipwrecked benefactor ! 

"The Gift of Miracles!" See the sorcerer of 
Paphos — struck as blind as was Saul himself at Damas- 
cus, but without so relenting a spirit: and again — the 
demoniac maiden of Philippi, dispossessed and re- 
deemed ! 

"The Gift of Prophecy!" See his foresight of 
near results, in his own history, as the safety of every 
life involved with his own in shipwreck : and again,. 
his grander perception of the events of the latter 
times, the manifestation of the man of sin, the second 



312 THE APOSTLE — 

advent of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the 
change of the living, and the final and eternal triumph 
of the kingdom of God. 

"The Gift op Discerning Spirits!" See this in 
exercise, both in wrath and mercy : as when, at Paphos, 
being "filled with the Holy Ghost," he "set his eyes" 
on that sorcerer, and exclaimed, "0 full of all subtilty 
and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of 
all righteousness:" and again, when he "steadfastly" 
beheld that lowly and longing cripple at Lystra, and 
perceived that he had "faith to be healed." 

The Gift of "Tongues!" Doubtless, by his edu- 
cation alone, he spoke freely in Hebrew, and Greek, 
and Latin; but, besides these, he spoke, by the Spirit, 
whatever dialect was required in every district of every 
country he ever entered. "I thank my God," he 
wrote to these same Corinthians, " I speak with tongues 
more than ye all." 

And thus we are brought to — 

The Gift of Interpreting Tongues — a gift that 
he valued far more highly than their unintelligent 
utterance: wherefore, when he made the declaration 
just cited, he was careful to add — "Yet, in the church, 
I had rather speak five words with my understanding, 
that I might teach others also, than ten thousand 
words in" a foreign or "unknown tongue." 

And yet, surely, besides the grandeur of this concen- 
tration of natural qualities, and educational advantages, 
and spiritual gifts, and ecclesiastical offices, and the con- 
stant and extensive action of all, within the limits of 
this one apostolate, there is another and most impressive 
concentration, which it were great injustice to our 
theme to overlook. I mean his humiliations, and 
labors, and privations, and exposures, and oppositions^ 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 318 

and persecutions, and afflictions, and successes, and exalt- 
ations, and the progressive and prospective influence of 
his office, in all lands and ages. Let me touch these 
points, if it be only as the telegraph key is touched : 

Humiliations — The guise of a journeyman tent- 
maker, for the great Apostle to the Gentiles, in all the 
capitals of the Gentiles, for nearly thirty years ! 

Laboes — jNot the mere name of his trade, nor yet 
the toil of obligation, but the industry of choice, and 
independence, and benevolence. " I have coveted no 
man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves 
know that these hands have ministered unto my necessi- 
ties, and to them that were with me." 

Privations — "Not that I speak in respect of want," 
said he, "for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, 
therewith to be content." And yet, from the very next 
verse, it appears that he knew how to be "abased" 
and to be "hungry," and "to suffer need." 

Exposures- — "Thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night 
and a day have I been in the deep; in journeyings 
often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers,, in perils 
by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in 
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils 
in the sea, in perils among false brethren." 

Oppositions — Everywhere, as at Corinth, "the Jews 
opposed themselves, and blasphemed:" and every- 
where, as in Galatia, the Judaizing teachers among the 
Christians opposed themselves : and everywhere, among 
the Gentiles, "the oppositions of science, falsely so 
called," and "the wisdom of the world," and the craft 
of idolatry, and the policy of States, arrayed them- 
selves against him. 

Persecutions — "I could wish that myself were ac- 
cursed from Christ," said he, "for my brethren, my 



314 THE APOSTL E — 

kinsmen according to the flesh :" and yet the Jews 
repaid him, "five times," with "forty stripes save one," 
and in every way abused him from first to last ; some 
of them binding themselves, under a "great curse," 
that they "would neither eat nor drink till they had 
killed" him. As for the Gentiles: the masses, whom 
he strove to redeem, rejected and mobbed him: the 
magistrates, for whom he prayed and taught the 
Church to pray, scourged, chained and imprisoned 
him : and on the very spot where he healed the crip- 
ple, and where even the priests of Jupiter brought 
garlanded oxen to offer him sacrifice, the Jews per- 
suaded the people to stone him, and left him lying in 
his blood for dead. 

Afflictions — The "thorn in the flesh" — "the mes- 
senger of Satan to buffet him" — the occasion of the 
reproach which so often assailed him, that his "bodily 
presence" was "weak" and his "speech contemptible." 

Successes — Despite of all his humiliations, and 
labors, and privations, and exposures, and oppositions, 
and persecutions, and afflictions — by the grace of God, 
he filled the cities with churches, the kingdoms with 
evangelists, and the world with Christians. Not only 
"from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum," but it 
may have been, that from the plains of Damascus 
round about to the olive-groves of Spain, the vine- 
yards of Gaul, and the white strand of Briton, he 
" fully preached the gospel of Christ." Despite of the 
Jews, the sanctuary tottered, and the synagogues fell. 
Despite of the Gentiles, the idols were demonstrated 
to be "nothing in the world;" and their mightiest 
temples mere monuments of emptiness, or abominable 
seclusions of fraud and crime. And, despite of the 
Devil, it came to be understood that the head of the 



NOTHINGS WITHOUT LOVE. 315 

serpent was bruised with a wound that no lapse of 
time can cure, while the heel of him who bruised it 
was quite restored, and the crucified Man of Calvary 
had already become the crowned Sovereign of Glory, 
and the certain conqueror of Death and Hell. 

And then, his Exaltations — how opportunely and 
beautifully they came to his relief. ~Not terrible were 
his visions, after the first fearful glare, near the gates 
of Damascus. How kindly the same Saviour once 
hurried him from Jerusalem ! How gently he encour- 
aged him amid the trials of Corinth ! How approv- 
ingly he assured him that as he had testified of him in 
Jerusalem, so he must "bear witness also at Home." 
But who shall tell his ecstacy, when, not content with 
honoring him on earth, his Lord directed him to be 
"caught up to the third heaven:" and again, to be 
"caught up into Paradise" — there, at least, not only to 
see, but, as though his privileges were enlarged, also 
to hear — to hear, it may be, the tongues of the angels 
to whom he refers in the text — tongues yet unspeaka- 
ble indeed, not lawful or possible for a man to utter, 
but full of the love of God, and the glory of his 
redeemed creation! And yet, not even this is all. 
One exaltation more, he has already secured. "For I 
am now ready to be offered," said he — when his brow 
was wrinkled with age, and his spirit was longing 
for immortality — "and the time of my departure is at 
hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth," he ex- 
claims — as though it had been shown him in heaven — 
"henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, 
shall give me at that day: and" — for this would be 
insufficient joy for such a soul as his — "and not unto 



316 THE APOSTLE. 

me only, but unto all them also that love his ap- 
pearing! " 

But is there not one point more ? Ah me ! I could 
never have done ! And yet I did say something of his 
progressive and prospective influence ! But who can 
tell it ? See ! They rise around me ! Historians, with 
their Pauline events : chronologists, with their Pauline 
dates: geographers, with their Pauline places: archi- 
tects, with their Pauline buildings : painters, with their 
Pauline pictures : sculptors, with their Pauline statues : 
poets, with their Pauline verses : kings, and heroes, and 
orators, with their Pauline names: theologians and 
ecclesiastics, with their Pauline literature and institu- 
tions: churches, and states, and nations, with their 
Pauline traditions and memorials : Gentile Christians, 
from pole to pole, with ten thousand celebrations of 
their great and glorious Apostle ! And yet, hear the 
Apostle himself. Let him descend from heaven, and 
illustrate this pulpit in the name of our common Lord 
and Master. Let him bring with him only one clear, 
comprehensive remembrance of the love of God, and 
that will be enough for our purpose. 

Hark ! As I wrote to the Corinthians, so I repeat 
to you : " Though I speak with the tongues of men and 
of angels, and have not Love, I am become as sounding 
or a tinkling cymbal." 

The Apostle is nothing- without Love. 



LOVE: 

THE PROPHET— NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 



"And though I have the gift of prophecy — and have not love, I am 
nothing." — 1 Cor. xiii: 2. 

The Prophet ! — the orator of the future — -the oracle 
of the Holy Ghost — the special witness of Christ to 
designated persons, classes, and nations! 

The Prophet! — the incumbent of the second office 
in the mediatorial kingdom — the collective centre of 
all spiritual gifts, except those which are distinctive of 
the universal supremacy of the Apostle ! 

The Prophet ! — not essentially dependent upon visi- 
ble communion with Christ in the flesh ; and, therefore, 
appearing either before, or with, or after the great 
manifestation — a member of a succession as ancient 
and continuous as the history of revelation ! 

Such being the scope of this theme, I must turn at 
once to its most attractive points, and touch them 
rapidly and lightly. 

1. What is the . nature of the gift of prophecy ? It 
is spiritual sensation ; the opening of the spiritual 
senses to spiritual objects; the release of the spirit of 
man from its usual restraints, and its admission to a 
participation in the intelligence of the Spirit of God; 
the special, immediate, and divine instruction of an 
elect agent, in such a condition, for outward, ministe- 
rial purposes. 

(317) 



318 THE PROPHET — 

2. What are the modes by which the instruction is 
given ? In some cases, by visions and voices — corres- 
ponding with the supernatural susceptibilities just 
described. In these cases, the ordinary action of the 
bodily and mental faculties is not suspended. The 
prophet is wide awake, and in full self-possession : but 
the gift which glides into him superadds an extraor- 
dinary energy to his whole being — exciting a force of 
will, a lire of sentiment, and a vividness of imagina- 
tion ; a glow of poetry, a gush of pathos, and a glory 
of eloquence, never known except in demonstration 
of its own presence, and for the accomplishment of its 
noblest ends. In other cases, the intelligence is 
imparted by dreams. These merely require the sleep 
of the body, and the appropriate improvement of a 
common natural process, so as to render it significant, 
and impress it permanently and plainly on the memory 
and understanding. In other cases, there seems to be 
only a silent inspiration of quickening suggestions — a 
delightful enlargement and clearness of intuition, 
especially in connexion with the study of the Bible and 
nature. 

3. "What are the degrees of this gift? These seem 
to be only two : which, therefore, may be conveniently 
distinguished as superior, and inferior. The superior 
degree implies instruction, not only in relation to the 
past and present, but, also, and pre-eminently, in rela- 
tion to the future. This degree, moreover, includes 
the subordinate gifts of teaching, miracles, healing, 
tongues, fee. In a word, the possessor of this degree, 
is the prophet in full grandeur. The inferior degree 
is confined, chiefly, to a better training than is other- 
wise accessible in the knowledge of the past and 
present— the comprehension of natural and recorded 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 319 

mysteries, and their relations to the future, as the future 
is laid open by the discoveries of those who are 
invested with the higher degree. This lower degree 
of the gift of prophecy, therefore, is nearly or quite 
identical with what is afterward styled the gift of 
teaching — as the next discourse is expected to show. 
Generally speaking, it would seem that this degree 
did not include the subordinate gifts of miracles, 
healing, &c. 

4. What is the design of this gift ? This is as sim- 
ple, sublime, and glorious— as distinctively obvious — 
as the sun in mid-heaven, [t is — to qualify its posses- 
sor to be a witness of Christ' — to testify of Christ. 

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
end, the first and the last," said Christ. As the 
elements of all literature, however vast and complex 
its combinations, may be found in the letters of the 
alphabet, so the solution of the government of the 
world may be found in the personal agency of Christ. 
From the beginning to the end, from first to last, 
recognized or unrecognized, his all-searching sove- 
reignty controls its whole development. We cannot 
doubt this fact: and yet how wonderful it is ! 

See ! Nature attests the Creator, but not the Media- 
tor. What then ? If, since the creation of nature, a 
great moral change has occurred, requiring the world 
to be put under special mediatorial government, shall 
not the Mediator be proclaimed? If nature be con- 
stitutionally incapable of bearing testimony to his 
reign, shall not some other witness be provided ? Surely, 
some other must be provided. Here, then, is a great 
need to be supplied. 

It may seem strange that such a need should exist. 
Why, it may be asked, might not the Mediator reveal 



820 THE PROPHET— 

himself? The facts, here, are very interesting. From 
our present position, it is not difficult to look back 
upon them, with some justness of appreciation. We 
may thus appreciate, perhaps, both the general seclu- 
sion and occasional disclosures of the Mediator. 

See ! According to the plan, he was sometime to be 
manifest in the flesh. That time was deferred until 
four thousand years had gone by. During this interval, 
of necessity, he refrained from this kind of manifesta- 
tion. Nevertheless, it was desirable that his continuous 
existence and superin tendency should be occasionally 
demonstrated to the passing generations, by inferior 
appearances: and, therefore, such appearances are 
actually recorded. He did reveal himself — perhaps to 
the full extent of consistency with the plan. 

The reasons for restraint, however, on his own part, 
whatever they were, confirmed the need of other 
witnesses. The earliest method adopted for the supply 
of this need was, the establishment of religious insti- 
tutions — regular, symbolical, mediatorial institutions. 
These, however, in all ages, have proved insufficient : 
on which account, irregular and extraordinary institu- 
tions — if I may so style them — have been introduced 
and sustained, according to the pressure of current 
circumstances. 

Now, it is in these connexions, that we find the 
origin of the gift of prophecy. All other witnesses 
might fail: but prophecy was sure to succeed. The 
whole sacrificial institute, priest, victim, altar, offerer, 
and shrine, might so degenerate as to forget all rela- 
tions to the invisible but ever-active Messiah : but the 
Messiah himself, though still, in wisdom, withholding 
his glory from the priesthood and people, might reveal 
himself to the prophet, and the prophet was certain to 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. * 321 

lift up his voice like a trumpet and proclaim his mes- 
sage without fear or favor. 

This, indeed, was the grand design of his office — -to 
do what Nature, with all its voices, could not do ; to do 
what Society, with all its voices, failed to do; to do 
what Christ himself was personally restrained from 
doing; to Vindicate, in every presence, and at all 
hazards, the holiness and justice, the majesty and 
mercy of the mediatorial government ; to declare the 
goings forth of the Mighty One from everlasting; his 
continued and supreme sovereignty; and the magnifi- 
cence of his future progress toward the ultimate attain- 
ment of universal and perpetual empire. Therefore, 
the almost innumerable passages agreeing with the 
following: "To him give all the prophets witness." 
And again : It was " the Spirit of Christ which was in 
them" — that "testified beforehand the sufferings of 
Christ and the glory that should follow." And again: 
"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy:" 
or, in other words, the spirit or soul of all prophecy is 
the testimony it bears to our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. 

It were interesting to dwell on various other points, 
in these preliminary observations: but I can only 
allude to one more, and then proceed to a summary 
opening of the main contemplation. 

5. The additional point here may be suggested by a 
fifth inquiry: What is the limitation of the gift of 
prophecy? And to this I answer, briefly — the legal 
constitution under which it is exercised. That is, the 
prophet is neither a law-giver, nor a law-reformer. He 
is rather an assertor of the law, when it is neglected; 
and an avenger of the law, when it is broken. He 
may predict changes, but not ordain them. True : the 



322 THE PROPHET — 

case of Moses maybe objected; but the objection is 
obviated by the fact that Moses was both a law-giver 
and a prophet — not a law-giver as a prophet. Under 
the Patriarchal dispensation, it was the office of the 
prophet to bear witness for Christ, according to the 
covenant then in force. Under the Levitical dispensa- 
tion, it was his duty to do the same, according to the 
covenant then in force. And under the Christian dis- 
pensation, it is his duty to do the same, according to 
the covenant now in force. It makes no difference in 
what way, or by what authority, Christ is dishonored: 
it is the prophet's office to vindicate his honor, and 
that, not by the substitution of plans of his own, but 
simply by insisting upon, and, if practicable, securing 
the revival and observance of the laws and institutions 
of Christ. 

With these remarks, omitting others, I hasten to a 
quick unrolling of the prophetic panorama. 

Zacharias, you may remember, " was filled with the 
Holy Ghost," and prophesied: blessing "the Lord God 
of Israel" for the fulfillment of the predictions of 
"his holy prophets, which," he added, "have been since 
the world began." Need I cite any similar passages? 
Surely, as it is sometimes said, one is as good as a 
thousand. Very well. Here, then, is the range — 
Prophets since the world began ! 

You see, at once, a vast difference between the 
Prophets and the Apostles. The Apostles, by tire 
conditions of their office, were limited to a single gen- 
eration. Space, not time, was their element. There- 
fore, their number — not, by the way, like a single 
Pope, shut up in the Vatican, or posting, in disguise, 
to Gaeta — but twelve or thirteen Apostles at once: 
.demanded, as they were, by the extent of their mission 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOYE. 323 

and the necessity of its fulfillment in so short a period — 
Apostles, it may be added, as was formerly stated, not 
one of whom had, or could have, either predecessor or 
successor. These glorious cotemporaries, in regard to 
the occupancy of space, far excelled the whole succes- 
sion of Prophets, from the beginning of the world to 
the advent of the Mediator. 

The Prophets, on the other hand, according to the 
conditions of their office, extended their line through 
a long series of generations. There was no era, how- 
ever, if I remember correctly, in which a cotemporary 
group of Prophets, equal in number and prominence 
to the group of Apostles, made its appearance. Nev- 
ertheless, it is plain, that, as the Apostles surpassed 
the Prophets in occupancy of space, so the Prophets 
far excelled the Apostles in occupancy of time. Time, 
indeed, and not space, is the prophetic element. The 
Apostles continually traversed space: the Prophets 
were always exploring time. The Apostles were 
scarcely ever at home: the Prophets seldom went 
abroad. 

Another difference may be touched, as we glide 
along — at first sight, but only at first sight, of advan- 
tage to the Prophets. Though the Apostles, compared 
with the whole succession of Prophets, were so few, 
yet, as was formerly noticed, one of their number was 
lost. Among all the Prophets, there is no example of 
an equivalent fall. Many and great were the errors of 
some — particularly of some who were not exclusively 
Prophets — but their record names not one who bears a 
brand like that of Judas Iscariot: the pitiful wretch 
who at once betrayed Divinity, disgraced humanity, 
and destroyed himself. 

Yet it is well to remember that Pentecost had not 
then inbreathed its powers. After that, the timid one, 



324 THE PROPHET — 

who had previously trembled at the voice of a maiden, 
was more than a match for the world. So, in relation 
to the Prophets. The gift of the Spirit was the induc- 
tion into their office. There was no time to doubt, 
and no reason for doubt. ' God was in them : God was 
with them: God was for them: and denial would 
have been blasphemy; and disobedience, rebellion; 
and distrust, as abominable as idolatry. Therefore, 
when rulers became corrupt, and the people corrupt, 
and the priesthood, fearful of both, and careful chiefly 
of self, became more corrupt than either — the Prophet, 
though apparently alone, stood forth in the frailty of 
man, but with the courage and power of an angel, and 
denounced their crimes, and instantly inflicted, or 
unerringly predicted, the due award of wrath. There- 
fore, they were generally so bitterly hated and cruelly 
wronged. Never said Stephen, or any other, to the 
Jews, Which of the Priests have your fathers not 
persecuted ? but the Christian proto-martyr did sting 
them by the challenge, "Which of the Prophets have 
your fathers not persecuted? " The Prophets were all 
faithful to their gift., and to him who gave it. 

What then ? Such was the race of men, whose suc- 
cession now unrolls. And lo ! — the opening of the 
antediluvian world! See Enoch, the seventh from 
Adam — the Sabbath-man ! — standing in the midst of 
the mighty multitude of giants in stature, and giants in 
sin. See him lifting his hand toward the home of 
him who hallowed the Seventh day, and has equally 
hallowed the seventh man, and hear him exclaim, 
"Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his 
saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince 
all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly 
deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all 
their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 325 

against him!" Do you not see? Hark, again! 
" Against him ! " Against the Lord ! Against Christ ! 
There is the true Prophet — the incorruptible witness 
for Christ! 

Behold ! again — that same beautiful world, changed, 
by the command of Christ, into one vast prison : and 
all its inhabitants held in bonds, as convicted and con- 
demned criminals. The mountain doors are shut, and 
none but Christ can open them. The windows of 
heaven are covered with thick clouds, and only as 
the wind sways them does even a gleam of the light 
beyond come down between the bars. Yet, in that 
gleam, I see the pale face and compassionate counte- 
nance of Noah, as he stands, for the last time, prompted 
by the spirit of Christ within him, and pleads with the 
crowds of prisoners, sitting sullen in the deepening 
shadows, and scowling upon their last and best friend. 
How many among them has he known long and loved 
well ! And why does he now appear, as if against 
them ? Not that he loves them less, but Christ more. 
There, again, is the true Prophet — the only witness 
left to vindicate his Lord ! And if he turn away, by 
the one passage which his deliverer still keeps unclosed 
for his exit, it is only because there is no more hope. 

Behold, again ! — a new world, and a new race, but 
soon overrun with old sins. And Abraham, and 
Isaac, and Jacob — favored with visions and instructed 
by voices, and dreams, and silent, sightless inspira- 
tions — pass before us, renewing the testimony for the 
Almighty Mediator. 

And so we come to Moses ! Lo ! the sea parts : the 
mountain darkens, and flames, and resounds: and 
away through the low and level track, the cloud of the 
tabernacle, without lightning or thunder, shades the 



326 THE PROPHET — 

desert by day, and shines on the silent tents and spark- 
ling sands through the cool and grateful night. Re- 
member the superiority of the Prophet to the Priest. 
" Thou shalt be (to Aaron) instead of God." Remem- 
ber, also, the sayings of later times: "Had ye believed 
Moses, ye would have believed me," said Jesus to the 
Jews, " for he wrote of me!" And so again : " Begin- 
ning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded (unto 
his disciples) in all the Scriptures, the things concern- 
ing himself." And thus another instance, where many 
might be added: "All things must be fulfilled, which 
were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, 
and in the Psalms, concerning me" 

Turn, then, to the death-scene of Moses. As, in 
the prime of life, he esteemed "the reproach of Christ 
greater riches than the treasures of Egypt," and as, 
through the eventful progress of life, he has never 
shrunk from the testimony of Christ, so now — see! — 
having just stood on Pisgah, by the side of Christ, and 
followed the pointing of his finger in a rapturous sur- 
vey of the Promised Land, and understood this as a 
symbol of the beauty and bliss of the Better Land, he 
is not only content to die there, apart from all Israel, 
and with none near him but his Lord ; but he is happy 
also to know that his Lord himself will bury him, even 
though it be where no man shall find him — ay, infi- 
nitely happier than he could be, if, dying in the palace 
of the Pharoahs, he should be assured that his em- 
balmed body, enclosed in a sculptured sarcophagus, 
would be deposited in the proudest of the pyramids, 
amidst the lamentations of all Egypt and the memorial 
homage of the world. To Moses there was nothing 
desirable, but to be a worthy witness of Christ. 

And so passes Joshua, the triumphant type of 
Christ, looking as though he had just returned from 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 327 

the National Assembly, and was yet full of the serenity 
of the noble resolution with which he closed his testi- 
mony — "If it seem evil to you, to serve the Lord" — 
that is, to serve Christ — " choose you this day whom 
ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers 
served that were on the other side of the flood, or the 
gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell : but, as 
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 

And so follows the saintly Samuel, another opener 
of a prophetic epoch: wherefore St. Peter declared, 
"Yea, and all the prophets, from Samuel, have like- 
wise foretold of these days." 

And so follows David — once awfully polluted as a 
king, but always true as a Prophet: whose sin, ac- 
knowledged and forgiven, may now be passed over; 
but whose Psalms, enshrining, like the glorious robe 
of the High Priest, the sacred form of the Mediator, 
shall bear their purple pomegranates, and ring their 
golden bells at every movement before the mercy seat, 
until the final hour of reappearance and blessing. 

And so we come to the golden ages of prophecy. 
But here — reverting a moment to the past — how 
lightly it has been touched ! Where were El-dad and 
Medad, and the seventy elders, among whom the over- 
flow of the Spirit in Moses was divided, making them 
all prophets, and occasioning the noble cry — "Would 
God all the Lord's people were prophets!" or, all 
Christ's disciples his truly inspired witnesses? Where, 
too, was the company of prophets at Naioth, and the 
first band of Saul's messengers, prophesying among 
them? and the second band, prophesying among 
them ? and the third band, prophesying among them ? 
and Saul, himself, prophesying among them? Even 
so must it be. Time admits no more. 



328 THE PROPHET — 

Turn we, then, to the golden eras — not, indeed, of 
national prosperity, but of prophetic grandeur, fidelity 
and power. See the rending of the kingdom, under 
Rehoboam, and the rivalry of the houses of Judah and 
Israel. Glance at the succession of prophets, for some 
two hundred and fifty years, in each kingdom : first, in 
Israel — Abijah, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisha, Jonah, Amos, 
Hosea, and Ocled — so coming to the captivity of the 
ten tribes in Assyria : and then, secondly, in Judah — 
Shemaiah, Azariah, Hanani, Jehu, Eliezer, Jahaziel, 
Zechariah, Joel, Isaiah, and Micah; and then, still in 
Judah, but after the captivity of the other tribes, 
Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Huldah, 
(the prophetess,) and Obadiah; and then, during the 
seventy years' captivity of Judah itself in Babylon, 
the ministry of Ezekiel — the Peter of the prophets — 
ever looking back toward his own land and nation : 
and the magnificent office of Daniel — the Paul of the 
Prophets — surveying the world of the Gentiles, and 
claiming it all for Christ: and then, glance again at 
the three witnesses, after the captivity, and the return 
to Jerusalem — Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi. Thus 
we come within four hundred years of the advent 
of Christ himself — and close the prospect with the 
prediction of John the Baptist — the morning star of 
the new dispensation, and of Jesus, himself, "the Sun 
of Righteousness, " rising upon all mankind with 
" healing in his wings." 

"What shall we do with such a succession as this ? 
Let me increase the difficulty, by adding to it the suc- 
cession of the new covenant. Remember, however, if 
you please, that, generally speaking, the higher degree 
of prophecy was superseded in the new era — in part, 
by the recorded predictions of preceding periods : but, 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 329 

chiefly, by the personal disclosures of the Prophet of 
prophets — the manifest Christ himself. The humbler 
degree of prophecy — the gift of teaching — of under- 
standing and explaining the mysteries of the Book of 
books — this is the distinction of the true Church of 
Christ. Still, John, the precursor, must never be for- 
gotten. The fact that the Apostles were also Prophets, 
must not be forgotten. St. Peter's application of the 
prophecy of Joel, on the day of Pentecost, to the 
disciples generally, both men and women, in connexion 
with visions, and dreams, and spiritual utterance, must 
not be forgotten. The "prophets" who came "from 
Jerusalem to Antioch," must not be forgotten. Aga- 
bus, in particular, and Barnabas, and Simeon, and 
Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen ; and Judas, and Silas — ■ 
all of whom are styled prophets — must not be forgot- 
ten. The Tyrian disciples, who warned Paul, by the 
Spirit, must not be forgotten. The four daughters of 
Philip the Evangelist, at Csesarea, must not be forgot- 
ten, but rather associated with Miriam and Deborah, 
Hannah and Huldah, of the old dispensation. 

We cannot but feel, however, that here, in the New 
Testament, we have no Acts of the Prophets : no pre- 
dictions of the seers : no book corresponding with the 
Acts of the Apostles. On the former occasion, it was 
an easy thing to illustrate the dignity of our special 
subject, and so make the more impressive the startling 
announcement that all the concentrate gifts and offices 
of the apostolate are nothing without love ! I had 
only to select the great Apostle to the Gentiles, as the 
example : collect and arrange the incidents of his his- 
tory: develope the intimations of his character: por- 
tray the grandeur of his gifts and the successful admin- 
istration of his complex office : and suggest the cumu- 



330 THE PROPHET — 

lative progress and fullness of his unparalleled influ- 
ence. 

But what shall I do now? I have endeavored to 
open the whole Bible on my theme : and the elements 
of its collected intelligence lie all around us. Rather, 
the prophets themselves are here — all here. But they 
all stand in shadow. The Sun of Righteousness has 
gone down below the horizon: and not only, as we 
have just acknowledged, are we oppressed by the 
feeling that the glory has departed, and that the gray 
twilight is closing in upon us — but it is a clouded 
twilight — mountains, and plains, and coasts, and isles 
of clouds, and vast scaffold-like bars of gloom, that 
seem designed to fill each open space, and deepen the 
cold and common darkness. 

And yet, see! Was it ever so known from the 
foundation of the world? Most marvelous vision! 
Can it indeed be so ? Why, the sun appears to have 
turned back in his course ! His orb is not seen : but 
his light increases. There is some strange effusion of 
searching and transforming splendor. The clouds are 
all transfigured. The vast scaffold-like bars melt away 
from magnificent palaces and metropolitan cities. 
Seas roll their waves of pearl through zones of gold : 
and the mountains flame around, with scarce a shade 
to relieve their brilliance. Heaven opens over all, and 
discloses all its wonders! Thrones, and dominions, 
and principalities, and powers, cherubim and seraphim, 
morning stars and sons of God, angels and archangels, 
of every name, and every office, glitter in the glory, 
gliding on a thousand missions. Saints of all ages 
trail their white robes along every line of beauty and 
bliss. Even he that sitteth on the throne of thrones, 
and the Lamb, in the midst of the throne — the symbol 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 331 

of infinite meekness sheltered by infinite majesty — 
become clearly apparent. Innumerable and indescri- 
bable changes occur. The silence becomes intolerable. 
A breath blends with the light : and instantly all voices, 
of all beings, and all instruments, utter all melodies, 
and combine in all harmonies, and hold all contempla- 
tion in divine enchantment. 

And the Prophets ! Lo ! they seem to understand 
all ! They have come from the first to the last ages of 
time, to behold in common, and hear in common, the 
last vision and the last music of the prophetic spirit. 
See ! how Enoch's eyes sparkle in the splendor ! Hark ! 
how Isaiah's tongue trembles out its ecstacy! And 
mark! especially, the outstretched arm and moving 
hand of Daniel, directing the whole irradiate and 
enraptured group to the commanding points of every 
scene — and hear him declaring the correspondencies 
of all — and anticipating the final and most gorgeous 
descent from heaven of the city of God — the home of 
the holy — and the capital and paradise of life ever- 
lasting ! 

And now, again, all is faded and all is still. The 
visions of Patmos close the contemplation. And who 
was the prophet of Patmos? John the Evangelist — 
the special Apostle of Love. And what was the prophet 
of Patmos without his love? Even he had been 
nothing ! 

The Prophet is nothing without Love. 



LOVE: 

THE TEACHER-NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 



"And though I understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and hare 
not love, I am nothing." 1 Cor. xiii: 2. 

The Teacher! the Prophet of the second degree! 
the master of mysteries! the keeper of the keys of 
knowledge ! the incumbent of the third office in the 
Mediatorial Kingdom ! 

The Teacher! the highest officer in the Church as 
now apparent ! the agent of the greatest spiritual gift 
continued to the present time ! the synthesist of the 
past, the analyst of the present, and the most saga- 
cious contemplatist of the future ! the advance star of 
the latter day glory ! 

Inferior subjects often excite superior interest. So, 
here. On former occasions, for instance, we noticed 
the Apostle and the Prophet. These officers were 
superior to the Teacher. But the Apostles were soon 
transferred to invisible thrones : and the last of the 
prophets — i. e. of the first degree — departed with 
them, to study the hastening events of higher spheres. 
The Teacher, however — •%. e. not merely the ordinary 
teacher, the mechanical teacher, the teacher without a 
spiritual gift, but, as I have already styled him, the 
Prophet of the second degree — the Teacher with a 
spiritual gift — endued with an intuitive understanding 
of mysteries, and an unfailing enthusiasm in the com 

(332) 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 333 

munication of knowledge — he is still among us : and, 
therefore, though his office be inferior to its predeces- 
sors, its current relations awaken within us a far supe- 
rior interest. With this impression, at least, we enter 
upon its consideration. 

Many opinions are heard in regard to the essential 
qualification of a Teacher in the Church. Perhaps 
the four following are the most prominent among 
them: 1. That it is natural talent; 2. That it is a 
thorough education; 3. That it is a genuine Christian 
experience ; and, 4. That it is rather the union, more or 
less complete, of these several distinctions. 

The connexions of the chapter now before us, how- 
ever, suggest another view : but, before I open this, it 
may be well to give some attention to the opinions 
already stated. 

1. As to natural talent — the highest rank which 
that can secure, in the work of church instruction, is 
the rank of a pulpit orator. 

By an orator, I mean more than I have either time 
or disposition, at present, even to attempt to explain. 
In this land of oratory, however — this land of liberty, 
and therefore the land of oratory — and especially in 
this city, which has recently concentrated so many of 
the selectest voices of our magnificent republic — I may 
well be excused from any effort at explanation. Who 
among us does not know what oratory is ? Who does 
not distinguish the true orator from the false ? Very 
well. Where I ought to be silent, I wish to be silent : 
and, so understanding it, will be silent. Nevertheless, 
here let me say, or, rather, I must say, that by an ora- 
tor I mean a great character. 



334 THE TEACHER — 

True, there are degrees in this, as in all greatness. 
Mere physical capabilities and adaptations may rise into 
greatness. Intellectual fullness, variety, and facility, 
are certainly greater. A serene, all-commanding, and 
all-sustaining will, is still greater. An incorruptibly 
honorable motive — a pure life-law — sacredly secluded 
behind the will, master of the will and all its agents 
and instruments, is infinitely greater than all. 

But, by an orator, though I cannot fully explain it, I 
mean, in a word, one who comes as near as natural 
talent, self-disciplined, can enable him to come to the 
complete combination and best action of all these 
attributes in his own person : one whose motive quick- 
ens at the call of every just occasion : whose will is 
true to his motive : whose intellect is true to his will : 
and whose voice is true to all — true, what shall I say? 
true to the electric kindlings of all his higher nature, 
as the thunder to the lightning is true, but instantly 
turning, like the thunder, from sudden terror into lin- 
gering music, forgetting its triumph amidst the still- 
ness, and tears, and renewed repose of the scene it 
startled, only to purify and bless. 

Now,I cannot but admire oratory, describe it as you 
may. The unconscious easiness of it, and gracefulness 
of it, and courtesy of it : the extempore and inexhausti- 
ble resources of it: the perfect self-possession and 
ever-changing skillfulness of it: the only-conscious, 
all-conscious, and overwhelming earnestness of it: 
these, and other characteristics of it, wherever it is 
found in its original simplicity and power, charm me 
also, even as others are charmed. 

How much I might say here, and am strongly 
tempted to say, as I think of the three orators — the 
orator of the South, already hushed in death : the ora- 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 335 

tor of the "West, fast sinking into the same silence : 
and the orator of the East, whose voice, yet full of 
life, must, ere long, faint into the same feeble breath- 
ing, and the same unbreathing quiet!* But I bow 
before him " who only hath immortality," and am still! 

Let me return, therefore, to my more immediate 
theme, and remark, that oratory, even in the pulpit, as 
well as everywhere else, when it is really natural, and 
honest, and therefore almost or quite unavoidable, is 
still admirable, and will be admired — generally, indeed, 
unduly and often injuriously admired. But, I repeat, 
the rank of an orator is the highest rank that mere 
natural talent can secure in connexion with the pulpit : 
and to this I must now add, that the most finished 
pulpit orator which natural talent alone, however 
highly improved by self-discipline, ever produced, 
ranks far below the Teacher described in our text, and 
may be utterly destitute of the truly essential qualifica- 
tion for this office. 

2. As to a thorough education — the utmost which 
this can effect, in connexion with the instruction of 
the Church, is to enrich it with a pulpit expositor. 

By an expositor, I mean not only more than I have 
time or disposition to explain, but, also, more than I 
have ability to explain. Whatever deficiencies exist- 
in other relations, here they multiply and become more 
oppressive. 

Not only does our land abound with great civilians, 
who are entirely trustworthy as expounders of all 
political instruments, and the various and often com- 
plex authorities involved in them, but it also happily 
abounds with great theologians, who are equally trust- 

* All silent now. 



336 THE TEACHER — 

worthy, so far as the advantages of a thorough and 
appropriate education are applicable and productive, as 
literal expositors, or, to the full extent of the more 
comprehensive phrase, as critical expositors, of religious 
records and authorities. This latter statement is true, 
moreover, not only as it relates to the true religion, 
but, also, as it may be extended to false religions. 
Our most experienced statesmen, in all probability, are 
not more familiar with the constitutional organization 
and current policy of the various civil powers of the 
world, than are many of our churchmen with the 
organic and functional distinctions of all the religious 
systems of the world. In relation to the greatest of 
all the literal sciences — true, biblical divinity — they are 
frankly acknowledged, at least in England, if not on 
the Continent, as decidedly in advance of the theolo- 
gians of the Old World. 

]STow, the importance of having in the pulpit, not 
merely a natural orator, but, if it may be so, in addition 
to this, a comprehensive and all-searching critical 
expositor, is too obvious and impressive for a mo- 
ment's comment. Indeed, a well-trained, intellectual, 
and patient auditory might be expected to say, What- 
ever may be the value of the orator, in his proper 
place, if we must be content with either, separately, 
give us the expositor. Give us the preacher who is 
profoundly intimate with the original languages of the 
Scriptures, and with the languages and literature of 
their most ancient and useful versions, and with all the 
cognate branches of theological science : and who will 
diligently apply his stores of learning to the general 
illustration of the Holy "Word, especially assuring us, 
always, of the purest possible rendering of the sacred 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 337 

text, and so securing us the nearest access to the mind 
and will of God ! 

All these things, indeed, being so plain as not to 
need to be explained, I will only remark here, that the 
most richly-endowed critical expositor in the world is 
still inferior to the Teacher set forth in the text, 
and may be as utterly destitute as the mere orator, of 
any just claim to the essential qualification for the 
office. 

3. As to a genuine Christian experience — the most, 
perhaps, which this great blessing will, by itself, insure 
to its official possessor, or to the Church, is — the char- 
acter of a well-meaning and warm-hearted pulpit 

EXHORTER. 

By such an exhorter, however, I mean one who often 
accomplishes more good than a host of fine orators or 
erudite expositors; and does it, moreover, under cir- 
cumstances, at first sight, of comparatively little 
promise. 

Not for the comfort of his admirers are the deep 

foundations laid; or the wide walls raised; or the 

pillared porticos, or turreted towers, upreared ; or the 

lofty and many-arched roof overhung ; or the purple 

pews prepared; or the gilded organ built; or the 

painted windows opened — of the splendid chapel, or 

more massive and gorgeous cathedral. Not for his 

enjoyment is the marble polished, or the drapery 

embroidered, which are to aid the pomp and power of 

the ministerial throne. Not to suspend their breath 

under his fervid and tearful entreaties will the witlings 

of the world run thronging to the sanctuary: nor 

thither will the gay ladies, just foolish enough to be 

fashionable, but not wise enough to be genteel, trip 

with eager feet and tender, but morbid, sensibilities. 

22 



388 THE TEACHER — 

No, no : if he ever approach such a pulpit — almost 
frowning to see him come — it is only on some occa- 
sion when the eloquent orator or learned expositor is 
absent : and the crowd absent : and the most of the 
musicians absent: and the smaller, and plainer, and 
more faithful part of the congregation wait, in humility 
and simplicity, for the unpretending message of truth 
and love. Yet even on such occasions he sometimes 
gains a richer result than the walls around him ever 
witnessed before. 

Generally speaking, however, the circumstances of 
his ministry are suburban, or rural, or even wild — as 
among the mountains and forests of the laborious, 
ignorant, and rude. Wherever he goes, his exhorta- 
tion is substantially the same, and substantially good : 
always in place and always important. Sometimes, 
too, it is gloriously illumined, as if by a Christ-like 
transfiguration, which, without changing the form of 
it, fills it with the present and manifest God. Then 
it seems as though Moses, and Elias, and Christ had 
all come at once to the help of the speaker : and the 
law flashes and peals ; the silver trumpet of prophecy 
uplifts and prolongs a shrill, and sweet, and all-subduing 
strain; and, last of all, the voice of Jesus breathes 
upon the very heart-strings of the redeemed, entranced 
and enraptured disciples, and not only one of three, 
but every one of the hundred, or the thousand present, 
exclaims — "It is good to be here!" At such a time, 
if a passing traveler, not, indeed, a witling, but a man 
of sound sense and solemn appreciation, should witness 
the scene, he would leave it with the acknowledgment 
and record that there was the true workman and the 
true work of God. 

Still, it must here again be added, that the most 
pious and useful exhorter that ever lived — though his 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 339 

Christian experience be vital in other connexions — 
may be as destitute as the popular orator and venerated 
expositor of the special qualification of the Teacher in 
the text. 

4. As to the union, more or less complete, of the 
three preceding distinctions in the same person, it may 
be remarked — that the noblest product of even such 
an advantage is only the highest style of what was 
denominated, in the beginning, the ordinary teacher — 
the teacher without a special spiritual gift. 

True, such a teacher is a splendid specimen of con- 
stitutional and sanctified humanity. The Church has 
good reason to rejoice in him. What is it, that I say 
of him ? It is this — that he unites great natural talents 
with a thorough education, classical, scientific, and 
professional; and, as the crowning excellence of all, 
with the saintly virtues of a genuine Christian experi- 
ence ! — that he is at once an eloquent orator, an erudite 
expositor, and a zealous and powerful exhorter. How 
could he be more? 

Still, it might just as well be asked — How could the 
superior prophet be more than the teacher? or the 
apostle more than the prophet? If you will review 
the history of the Church you will find its places of 
instruction generally and permanently occupied by the 
separate classes of ordinary teachers: in some, the 
orators; in others, the expositors; in others, the 
exhorters; and in others, though less numerously, of 
course, the choice men, who illustrate the union of 
these characteristics. But, beyond and above these, 
you will find in every age the few advance stars that 
indicate the opening of brighter and better epochs. 

Now, these several classes of ordinary teachers, of 
whom alone I speak at present, must rank and do 



840 THE TEACHER— 

rank, however eminent, below the occasional, compara- 
tively few, and extraordinary teachers just alluded to. 
The difference is like that between Luther and Me- 
lancthon; or Zwingli and Bullinger; or Calvin and 
Beza; or "Wesley and Fletcher; or Whitefield and 
Cennick. It is the difference between the providential 
leader, whether so acknowledged or not, and all who 
follow him, in the way prepared for them. 

A pulpit instructor might combine the eloquence of 
Cyprian, Gregory, and Chrysostom ; with the learning 
of Origen and Jerome ; and with the zeal of. Athana- 
sius and Augustine : and, after all, be inferior to the 
teacher described in the text. 

So much, then, for the four prevailing opinions in 
relation to the essential qualification of a Christian 
teacher. I have no fault to find with them, now — 
except that they do not bring into view the gift and 
office of the teacher in the text. 

Now, see ! Does not the Church, in every age, need 
some higher agency than the instruction furnished it 
by its ordinary teachers? Certainly it does. The 
Church believes and proclaims the great doctrine of 
progress — of human progress ; of the progress of man, 
and the progress of society: and this, not merely as a 
conclusion of philosophy, but, primarily and authori- 
tatively, as a revelation of inspiration. Moreover, it 
is the office of the Church to prepare the world for 
every new stage in this progress. But how shall the 
Church fulfill this office? "Who shall prepare the 
Church itself? 

Do you say — the successors of the Apostles? I 
answer again, as was formerly shown, that the Apostles 
have no successors. True: I have heard it claimed, 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 341 

in an ecclesiastical convention, that the bishops of the 
party it represented, are the successors, not of the 
primitive bishops, but of the Apostles themselves. On 
a previous occasion, however, I demonstrated, by the 
example of St. Paul, illustrating every point in the 
case by his history, that the apostolic office included 
all the gifts of the Spirit, and all the ministerial 
appointments of Christ, as enumerated in the prece- 
ding chapter, viz: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, 
miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, divers kinds 
of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues — all of 
which were comprehended within the apostolic investi- 
ture as qualifications for a mission as wide as the world. 
Now, if any of our Christian brethren can conscien- 
tiously believe that, within the sectional limits of their 
denominational organizations, and among their special 
functionaries, undistinguished, as they are, by any 
semblance of miraculous powers, the official successors 
of the Apostles are truly evident — why, all I have to 
say is, they must be left, with entire respect, and 
unabated affection, to the liberty and exercise of this 
faith. But they must not be grieved with us, if we 
honestly profess that this is one of the very last things 
which we could believe. 

What then? Do you say — the successors of the 
Prophets shall prepare the Church? Here, also, I 
answer, as was shown before, that the Prophets — i. e. 
the foretellers of future events — have no successors. 
Their office, though it existed thousands of years prior 
to that of the Apostles, ceased at the same time with 
that of the Apostles. The last of the Apostles was 
also the last of the Prophets. It may be remarked as 
a singular fact, in this connexion, that while the doc- 
trine of apostolic succession is so earnestly insisted 



342 THE TEACHER — 

upon by some, the doctrine of prophetic succession is 
unknown to the Church; or, rather, there is no doc- 
trine of prophetic succession. Peters and Pauls, 
Jameses and Johns, are numerous enough : but Isaiahs 
and Jeremiahs, Ezekiels and Daniels, are nowhere 
heard of. Christ's apostles were only twelve or thirteen ; 
but the Church's apostles have been thousands on 
thousands : and yet, though Christ's prophets extended 
from Enoch to John the Baptist, the Church has had 
no representatives of them for nearly eighteen hundred 
years ! "Why so ? The Prophets were not rulers ! 
Ambition seeks power. 

What then? Do you say — the successors of the 
Priests shall prepare the Church ? I answer, still more 
emphatically, the Priests have no successors. Christi- 
anity acknowledges but one priest, and that one is 
Christ himself — of whom it is affirmed, with infinite 
solemnity and impressiveness, that he, "through the 
Eternal Spirit, offered himself, without spot, to God." 
The highest honor of the Priests, under the Mosaic 
dispensation, was to offer typical sacrifices, and these 
consisted merely of select animals. In all their gene- 
rations, corrupt as they often became, they never 
dreamed of offering Christ himself. Neither, when 
Christ appeared, did they dream of offering him. Had 
they even believed Jesus to be the Christ, they would 
not have dreamed of offering him as a sacrifice for the 
sins of the world. If that was to be done, it was to 
be done by himself. It was done by himself: aided, 
as we have seen, by the Eternal Spirit, in the presence 
of God the Father. There was the accomplishment 
of the most awful mystery of which the universe ever 
had knowledge. No wonder it is invested with such 
transcendent and exclusive dignity. It was not neces- 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 848 

jsary, is the testimony of the Apostle, "that he" — even 
he — < ' should offer himself often. ' ' Therefore, it is said — 
"Once, in the end of the world hath he appeared to 
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself:" and again — 
"By one offering he hath perfected forever them that 
are sanctified." And yet, "Hear it, heavens! and 
give ear, earth !" there are churches which perpetuate 
a nominal priesthood, and blasphemously pretend to 
repeat, by unholy hands, the offering of Christ, every 
day, all over the world! But, where is the Eternal 
Spirit ? and where is the Divine Father ? And where 
are the miraculous attestations? the darkening sky? 
the shuddering earth? the opening graves? the rising 
dead? Nay, where is Christ himself? where is his 
body, with its flowing blood ? where his soul, with its 
imperishable divinity ? What ! dare they say it ? EST 
THAT WAFER ! Ah me ! It is a wonder that the 
sky does not darken; that the earth does not shudder; 
that the graves do not open ; that the dead do not rise ; 
that the Eternal Spirit, in the name of the Divine 
Father, does not avenge the atrocious insult to God, 
the execrable imposition on mankind! Why this 
restraint ? Surely the most charitable answer is this — 
Because he who offered himself, once and forever, 
renews, in heaven, his ancient prayer on Calvary — - 
"Father, forgive them: for they know not what they 
do!" 

What ,then? Again I demand — Who shall prepare 
the Church for its new duties in promotion of human 
progress ? Do you turn back to the ordinary teachers ? 
to the popular orators? the critical expositors? the 
impulsive exhorters ? or the pre-eminent exemplars of the 
concentrated powers of these separate classes? Do you 
say — they shall prepare the Church? 



344 THE TEACHEK — 

I pray that no unjust word may drop from my lips, 
in this connexion. I look upon the American Pro- 
testant Ministry, in whole, as worthy of all respect and 
confidence. An infidel, whom I once visited for 
religious conversation, inquired for my opinion, in this 
relation : seeming to think, himself, that the duties of 
the ministry were generally performed, only or chiefly, 
for the sake of selfish interests. I was, happy to inform 
him that I had every reason to believe, so far as my 
acquaintance with ministers extended, that they were 
perfectly honest in their devotion to Christ and his 
cause. So I think still: though my experience has 
much enlarged, and certain important discriminations 
have become necessary, between the large-minded and 
whole-hearted servants of Christ and his cause, in the 
broad Bible sense of such terms, and the unfortunately 
perverted and restricted champions and victims of our 
unworthy, un-American, un-Christian, and happily 
declining system of divided, conflicting, and therefore 
comparatively inefficient, sectarianism. 

But, with all my respect and confidence in the 
ministry generally, apart from the evil, and perhaps in 
most cases imperceptible influences of sectarianism — 
and with all my love for every true man, in the minis- 
try, who will let me love him — my allegiance to truth 
requires that the general principle be announced, as 
applicable to all lands and all ages, and, of course, 
applicable here and now, that the ordinary Teachers 
of our holy religion, though of inestimable importance 
in the sphere assigned them, acting constantly in 
behalf of all the current interests of both life and 
death, are incompetent, of themselves, to the direction 
of the Church in the work of progress. If this be not 
a manifestly correct induction from all the facts of 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 345 

ecclesiastical and civil history, then I must be convicted 
of ignorance of the facts, or of inability to distinguish 
and appreciate their logical consequences. 

I hold this to be the truth in the case, that neither 
natural talent, however great: nor a professional edu- 
cation, however thorough: nor Christian experience, 
however genuine : nor any combination of these ener- 
gies, is adequate to the leadership in the work of pro- 
gress. All eloquence will fail, and all criticism fail, 
and all enthusiasm fail, and all blendings of them 
fail, in such a position. 

No one will suffice here but the Teacher described 
in the text — the Prophet of .the second degree — the 
master of mysteries— the keeper of the keys of know- 
ledge — the instructor who is endued with a special 
spiritual gift — the true, essential qualification for the 
office, so obviously needed. 

I am not disposed to insist upon this gift as obviously 
miraculous, in the present condition of the Church, 
Perhaps it was not so, even in the primitive Church. 
There is no ecclesiastical formulary to designate him 
who shall receive it: or to determine ministerial solem- 
nities to accompany its bestowment : or to provide, in 
any way, for the subsequent official and social recogni- 
tion of it. He who receives it may not himself recog- 
nize its extraordinary character. Its obligations may 
seem to him no more than those of commonly appre- 
hended truth. He may wonder that others do not 
apprehend the truth as he does, and feel the same obli- 
gations. "When opposed in his efforts to do what he 
sees needs to be done, and must be done, he adheres 
to his work rather as a Christian than as an elect 
teacher : as a matter of common honesty, rather than of 
special responsibility, involving great results in futurity. 



346 THE TEACHER — 

But, socially-recognized or not: self-recognized or 
not : there he stands — a providential agent, adapted to 
the times. As compared with the ordinary Teachers, 
he is more like the Prophets, and they are more like 
the Priests of the old dispensation. The Priests were 
not progressives. On the contrary, they generally 
opposed progress. When most corrupt, they most 
bitterly opposed progress. Their interests were identi- 
fied with things as they were: and they abhorred 
change — as though God had established their office for 
their own benefit, instead of that of the people. 
They were mere performers : not thinkers. They were 
ceremonialists, ritualists, formalists : not theorists, stu- 
dents of principles, or spiritual contemplatists. And 
so are the pretenders to the priesthood now. Instead 
of being progressives, they are retrogressives. We all 
know that this is true. Their element is the past. 
Their models are in the past: and among the little 
things — not the great things — of the past. Look at 
the Eomish church, and see if it be not so. Look at 
the Protestant churches which are most like the 
Romish, and see, again, if it be not so. This is the 
fatality of the priesthood. It must be so, for, as 
already stated, there is now no warrant for a priest- 
hood. Every ecclesiastical priesthood is anti-Chris- 
tian — awfully anti- Christian — and, of course, instead 
of aiding the great work of Christian progress, hinders 
it, and does all it can to stop it. 

Eow, I repeat, the ordinary Teachers of the Church, 
even where they disclaim the priesthood, are still more 
like the Priests, and less like the Prophets, than the 
extraordinary Teachers. The reason of this is, that so 
many of them, if not retrogressives, are yet opposed to 
progress. They are, at least, conservatives. They wish 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 347 

to keep things as they are : some of them — the secta- 
rian champions — because, I fear, in part at least, of 
personal ambition: others — the subordinates of these 
champions — because, I fear, of other personal and 
domestic interests. I do not, however, for a moment, 
or in the slightest degree, abandon my professed confi- 
dence in their Christian character, so far as sectarianism 
does not blind and mislead them. They are the feed- 
ers of the different folds of the great flock of "the 
Shepherd and Bishop of souls." If not progressives, 
they are, at least, good conservatives. Moreover, the 
majority of the people are very much like them. They, 
too, are conservatives. Therefore, the general harmony 
between them. Therefore, these Teachers, like the 
Priests of old, instead of being persecuted, are cher- 
ished, reverenced, and sustained. And not only does 
the majority in the Church sustain them, but the 
majority in the world also — for the world, generally 
speaking, is as conservative as the Church. 

On the other hand, the extraordinary Teacher, as 
was stated, is more like the Prophet than the Priest. 
He is not a formalist, but a spiritualist. He cares 
more for one great thought, or truth, than for ten 
thousand rites and ceremonies. He knows that forms 
must die, but that their principles will survive, and 
assume new forms, forever, and ever, and ever. He 
identifies himself, therefore, with good principles; and 
survives, and progresses, and improves with them. 
True, like the higher Prophets, his vocation involves 
suffering. He is recognized as one, who, instead of 
wishing to keep things as they are, is studious of 
change. The ordinary Teachers, therefore, of all 
classes — orators, expositors, and exhorters — become 
afraid of him, if he be powerful ; and dislike him, even 



348 THE TEACHER — 

though he be weak. The people, sympathizing with 
their Teachers, and valuing settled comforts above all 
things, manifest the same sentiments toward him. 
Oftentimes, either fear or dislike inveterates, if I may 
coin a word, into active hostility — sometimes open and 
comparatively honorable; at other times, secret and 
dishonorable. Though, at best, he be but a secondary 
Prophet, and would be likely to say of himself that he 
is neither "a prophet nor the son of a prophet," still 
there seems to be something, in spirit at least, that is 
applicable to his own sorrow, in the inquiry, "Which 
of the Prophets' — not Priests — "have not your fathers 
persecuted?" as though his hope, at least, of better 
things, gave him some right to remember the prophets. 

His great consolation, however, is this : that let the 
ordinary teachers or people judge him as they may, he 
knows that the only reason why he does not wish to 
keep things as they are, is, that he is anxious rather to 
help to make them as they ought to be : and this, not 
for any selfish purpose — for his whole course involves 
great self-denial — but for the sake of the salvation of 
souls, the prosperity of the Church, the conversion of 
the world, and the glory of God. This, I say, he 
knoivs ; and the knowledge of it is sweeter than honey 
and the honeycomb — yea, pure and rich, and inspiring, 
also, as the wine which maketh glad "the heart of 
God." Still, therefore, he continues to bear both his 
prophetic testimony and his prophetic fate. 

See him in his glory ! See him, in the freest exer- 
cise of his noble gift ! See the synthesist of the past ! 
See the analyst of the present ! See the contemplatist 
of the future ! See him, with the open Bible before 
him: and nature, and art, and society around him! 
See him, with the Spirit resting upon him ! 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 349 

Is he engaged in his closet? Why does his eye 
sparkle and his lip quiver ? Why does he turn from 
the sacred page, with gushing tears, and drop upon 
his knees, and pour out his soul in thanksgiving to the 
Highest ? Or is he in full earnest in the pulpit ? Why, 
there, has the flush surprised him ? and why does the 
flash illumine him ? Why does he blaze, in the firma- 
ment of his power, like both "a burning and a shining 
light?" Why does he glance so rapidly from the 
zenith to the horizon : from centre to circumference — ■ 
making the morning, noon and evening of time all one 
and all illustrious — the present glowing beneath him 
without a shadow, and the past and future throwing 
all their shades behind their objects — the beginnings 
of progress, the expansions of progress, and the final 
consummations of progress, standing all at once dis- 
closed: the principles, agents and subjects of redemp- 
tion, determining the changes of nature, the dispensa- 
tions of religion, and the revolutions of society, gather- 
ing, as they come, the only available spoils of all 
lands, and ages, and nations, and passing on, as if 
all heaven were in procession, toward still accumu- 
lating and ever improving events, until the throne of 
God appears in the cloudless light of a perfect and 
eternal vindication; and the Son of God is seen lean- 
ing against it in graceful and august repose ; and the 
universe of saints and angels exulting around it "with 
the ecstacy that remembers no ill and knows no fear ; 
and the last and least of the prophets is crowned with 
the righteous reward of his faithful devotion to the 
good and the true ? 

Alas ! that so little must be uttered where so much 
waits for utterance. The Bible ! Why, years would 
be required to tell the opening of its mysteries, the 



350 THE TEACHER — 

hastening of its knowledge, to his soul. And in the 
light of the Bible, all nature shines, and all art shines, 
and all society shines : and oftentimes faith exclaims, 
that nothing, any longer, is dark ! 

Yet, vain were the effort to exhaust the mysteries 
and knowledge of the Bible. Far sooner may the 
universe be exhausted, and all its machinery grow stale 
and be forgotten. Millions of Chrysostoms might ex- 
haust their eloquence in trying to express its fullness ; 
and their utmost efforts would be like the breathing of 
a single breath to show the fullness of the atmosphere. 
Millions of Origens might exhaust their learning in 
trying to explain its text, and millions of Augustines 
exhaust their zeal in trying to enforce its spirit : and 
all their exertions would prove like the kindling of a 
taper to illustrate the sunshine, or the pressure of the 
hand against a mountain to increase the power of uni- 
versal gravitation. 

Still, what Oratory never accomplished, and Criticism 
never accomplished, and Zeal never accomplished — 
either alone, or all together — the Spiritual Gift of Teach- 
ing often readily secures. And, in this case, the Apos- 
tle takes advantage of this fact, and magnifies it into 
seeming extravagance, and supposes, by a grand hyper- 
bole, that this Extraordinary Teacher, this Prophet of 
the Second Degree, may so exercise his gift as to come 
at last to the understanding of "all mysteries" and 
the accumulation of "all knowledge," and so be pre- 
pared to be more eloquent than all orators, and more 
instructive than all expositors, and more persuasive 
than all exhorters : and see the Bible lying before him, 
emptied of its wisdom, and all nature, and all art, and 
all society, all -around him, equally empty: and 
become intellectually as a very god, in the grandeur 



NOTHING WITHOUT LOVE. 351 

of his omniscience : and yet, after all, for the comfort 
of the humblest, and the salvation of the vilest, and 
the caution and encouragement of the best, he con- 
cludes by the averment that the want of a virtue 
uttered by a mere monosyllable, would reduce his ulti- 
mate and utmost attainments to nonentity and oblivion : 
for — 

" Though I understand all mysteries, and all know- 
ledge, and have not Love, I am nothing ! " 

The Teacher is nothing without Love. 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 



"As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." 
Prov. xxv : 25. 

The Scriptures throughout were written for our 
learning. JSTot a verse can be found, in any of them, 
that will not, either of itself or in its connexion, afford 
profit to the serious reader. 

We meet many passages, however, which, at firs* - , 
sight, seem to have only a local and transient interest ; 
and yet, even these, duly considered and applied, may 
be made promotive of general and permanent good. 
So it is in regard to the text before us. It carries no 
other apparent meaning, than that it is refreshing to hear 
"good news from a far country: " a fact which is most 
appropriately illustrated by a comparison derived from 
circumstances somewhat peculiar to districts adjacent 
to the situation of the writer. "As cold waters to a 
thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." 
Still, I trust it will prove available to our edification 
and comfort. Like earth from the mine, it has an 
unpromising aspect ; but, when broken up, it may dis- 
close a diamond. Or, to select a similitude more 
expressive of utility, it is like a fountain sealed up in 
the fastnesses of the rocks, and which only needs to be 
unsealed, to gush forth into the light, and ripple doAvn 

£352) 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 353 

into the valleys, and glide on through the meadows, 
giving new greenness to the withered grass, and sweet- 
est nourishment to the roots of every drooping flower. 
True, I have neither time nor strength to open this 
fountain fully : nevertheless, I hope that the exertion 
of feeble powers, for a brief interval, will cause some 
little rills to trickle out; and that these may incite 
your own efforts to open the channel still wider. In 
plain words, I merely propose to present you a few 
outlines of an application of which I think the text 
susceptible : and if these shall be in any degree inte- 
resting, you can fill them up by your own meditations. 

Let me first illustrate the allusions connected in this 
comparison. What, for instance, is the signification 
of "good news from a far country?" 

Reflecting upon the history of Solomon, the author 
of the Proverbs, we may suppose this particular saying 
to have been suggested by the arrival of glad tidings 
relating to some of his commercial operations. The 
Israelites were never highly distinguished as a com- 
mercial people. They did, indeed, carry on the usual 
oriental caravan trade with Egypt and other countries ; 
but their maritime affairs were unworthy of notice, 
until the reign of David. He, by subjugating the 
kingdom of Edom, annexed to his dominions two ports 
on the Red Sea. Solomon, after his ascension to the 
throne, determined to open a trade by sea with lands 
far remote. His own subjects, however, had neither 
knowledge nor skill in ship-building or navigation. 
To obviate this difficulty, he entered into an engage- 
ment with Hiram H. king of Tyre, who furnished him 
with Tyrian architects and navigators, by whom his 
vessels were constructed and commanded. They sailed, 

in company with the fleet of Hiram, to Ophir and 

23 



354 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

Tarshish — variously located, by modern authorities, 
either on the eastern coast of Africa, or in far more 
distant regions. The voyage, at any rate, occupied 
three years: and "the returns," it is said, "were very 
valuable, consisting of gold, silver, precious stones," 
and other important articles. 

The uncertainty of the fate of these vessels must 
have occasioned no little anxiety in the heart of Solo- 
mon, as well as in the breasts of the many Israelites 
and Tyrians who had relatives on board. Such anxiety 
is excited even now by similar circumstances, although 
commerce has established a hundred friendly ports on 
every coast, and made the pathway of every wind white 
with a thousand sails. But how much greater must 
have been the solicitude then, when the vessels were 
comparatively small and frail, unfurnished with chart 
or compass, traversing solitary deeps, ever in sight of 
barbarous shores, and navigated by crews comprising 
many who had never before gone down into the path 
of the great waters, and knew but little of the thunder 
and lightning of the ocean storm-clouds, the roaring 
and heaving, the foaming and dashing, of the mighty 
billows, and the rushing sweep of the terrible whirl- 
wind. During this long interval of doubt, the mon- 
arch, at times, was naturally apprehensive of some 
disastrous result: and, from all parts of the kingdom, 
grey-haired fathers and widowed mothers turned their 
faces toward the temple, and urged unceasing prayers 
that their enterprising sons might be preserved by the 
providence of him who walketh on the sea — at the 
waving of whose hand the wind forbears to blow, and 
at the touch of whose footstep the waters are calm. 

As the time when the fleet was expected to return 
drew near, day rolled more slowly after day ; suspense 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 855 

listened to every sound that came upon the southern 
breeze ; hope grew faint and languid ; and the shadow 
of coming despair stretched forward even to the throne 
of the king. And what now? In that season of 
weary delay, of increasing and melancholy foreboding, 
oh! how transporting was the sudden voice of the 
messenger, as he shouted from the hill, as he sprang 
through the gate of the city, as he leaped along the 
portal of the palace, as he stood in the chamber of 
presence, and proclaimed the arrival of the ships, the 
safety of the crews, and the abundance of the treasure ! 
In the moment of inspiring joy, we can imagine 
Solomon rising up and exclaiming — "As cold waters 
to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country ! " 

But let us now turn to the signification of the other 
allusion — "As cold waters to a thirsty soul." 

It is probable that this is an allusion to the condition 
of a traveler in the desert — the great Arabian desert, 
so often referred to in the Old Testament. It is almost 
impossible for the human mind to conceive, or any 
language to portray, the horrors of a thirsty traveler, 
helpless in the desert. We are peculiarly disqualified 
for such a conception and description — for our abode 
is in the garden of the world. Here the summer sun 
only ripens the fruit and grain, and brings to perfection 
the countless and inestimable beauties and blessings 
around us. Scarcely a barren spot is to be found, or 
one that needs to remain so : but everywhere we are 
encompassed by the freshness of unwithering verdure. 
Our land, as Moses said of Canaan, " is a good land, a 
land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that 
spring out of valleys and hills." "Who that has wan- 
dered only through the shady and breezy avenues of 
our hill-top forests, breathing an atmosphere all redo- 



356 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

lent with the fragrance perpetually coming up from 
fields of flowers and meadows of new-mown hay: 
having his ear regaled with the mingling songs of 
birds on all the branches, and the lavish, lapsing 
music of clear, cool waters, gurgling out from the 
glistening crystals of the moss-covered rocks — who, I 
say, thus dwelling among the dews of Eden, and with 
the accompanying remembrance of our thousands of 
interminable rivers, and incomparable cataracts and 
lakes, still shining and sounding in his soul, in what- 
ever quiet retreat he may enjoy — who, I say, thus deli-- 
ciously enclosed, can fancy, in full, the sorrows of the 
poor, miserable wretch, who staggers across the hot 
sands of the desert — a desert unshadowed by grove or 
cloud, with no vestige of vegetation in sight, except 
the fragments of small, decayed trees, burning to ashes 
in the kindling sunbeams ; and far, far, far away from 
any refreshing spring, without a drop of water to cool 
his parched tongue ! In the language of Belzoni, the 
celebrated traveler, "to be thirsty, in a desert, without 
water: exposed to the burning sun, without shelter: 
and no hopes of finding either, is the most terrible situa- 
tion that a man can be placed in, and one of the great- 
est sufferings that a human being can sustain. The 
eyes grow inflamed, the tongue and lips swell, a hollow 
sound is heard in the ears, which brings on deafness, 
and the brains appear to grow thick and inflamed. All 
these feelings arise from the want of a little water." 
To aggravate his woe, the sad wayfarer sometimes 
descries a delusive resemblance of water, peculiar to 
such relations, stretching beautifully before him — a 
mere atmospheric illusion, occasioned by the intense 
heat. Think of a man, thus reeling along, hardly 
able to keep on his feet, and so coming in prospect of 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 357 

the deceitful mirage — the false watery appearance-^ 
believing the vision true, not doubting that he sees a 
clear lake, and even the shadows of overhanging 
rocks, and, therefore, hurrying forward that he may 
drink, and live, but finding, at last, where the crisp 
ripples seemed to flow, naught but the white, shining, 
scorching sands ! Oh, what unutterably agonizing 
mockery! Think of him, then, carelessly dragging 
himself along, with the closing eye and slow step of 
despair, ready, every moment, to fall and die — when, 
lifting his head for one last look at the dazzling and 
dreadful waste, lo ! — a fact, not a fiction ! — a green 
island is before him ; and, coming near to it, he enters 
a substantial and blooming oasis, alive with fountains, 
dark with the fullness of unfading foliage, and bub- 
bling and rustling all around him with the music of 
innumerable welcomes. Then, as you see him sink 
on the moistened sward, and drink and bathe, and 
bathe and drink, in excess of delight — as you see him, 
revived, renewed, exultant, as one just risen from the 
dead, just born from the grave — methinks you must 
feel somewhat, at least, of the force of the allusion, 
"As cold waters to a thirsty soul." And, when you 
compare this scene with the one before described, you 
may realize, perhaps, the meaning of the proverbialist 
in whole when he said, "As cold waters to a thirsty 
soul, so is good news from a far country." 

Having thus attempted, by separate notices of the 
two allusions in the text, to illustrate the propriety and 
impressiveness of the comparison formed by their con- 
nexion, let me now proceed to some application of the 
subject to our own character and condition. Surely, 
it is capable of appropriate and useful spiritualization. 

What then? I come to bring you "good news," 



358 GOOD NEWS FROM A PAE COUNTRY. 

and "good news from a far country." How happy 
should I be, if I might only be assured that it will 
prove as grateful "as cold waters to a thirsty soul." 

True, I have no intelligence to report regarding 
Ophir or Tarshish, and no tidings of any newly-discov- 
ered continent or island, to tempt the cupidity of 
avarice, the cruelty of ambition, or the appetite of 
luxury. But, richer than all mines, more magnificent 
than all empires, and fairer than the fairest landscape 
of all the earth — heaven ! heaven is my theme ! Good 
news from heaven ! "He that hath an ear to hear, let 
him hear!" 

First — good news for the ignorant. And what is it ? 
Simply this — there is a heaven ! But who so ignorant 
as not to know that there is a heaven? Perhaps 
there are no people on earth who have not at least 
some vague notion of a rest beyond the tomb. Even 
the uncivilized wanderers of the woods and deserts 
look farther than the grave for freedom and bliss. 
Therefore, Pope, in his sceptical "Essay on Man," has 
so finely directed attention to the aborigines of our 
own country, saying — 

"Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutor'd mind 
Sees God in clouds and hears him in the wind, 
His soul proud science never taught to stray, 
Far as the solar walk or milky way ; 
Yet simple nature to his hope has given 
Behind the cloud-topt hill an humbler heaven, 
Some safer world by depth of woods embraced, 
Some happier island in the watery waste, 
Where slaves once more their native land behold, 
No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold ; 
To be, contents his natural desire, 
He asks no angel's wing, no seraph's fire, 
But thinks, admitted to that equal sky, 
His faithful dog shall bear him company." 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 359 

This may be received as quite a flattering picture of 
a Pagan heaven. As for the Mohammedans, they are 
opulent in heavens, having no less than seven. In the 
highest of these is situated their Paradise, or Garden 
of Abode, with its hundred departments, ornamented 
with the most gorgeous inventions of oriental fancy. 
There, they fondly think, the immense tooba tree 
springs from its soil of musk, with its fruitful branches, 
and golden trunk, and sending out from its roots the 
rivers of milk, and wine, and honey. 

But what is the worth of knowledge such as this ? 
Indeed, it is inadmissible to dignify with the name of 
knowledge such fantastic picturings of delirious intel- 
lects and inflamed passions. Would God, the millions 
who are thus deluded, had knowledge — true know- 
ledge ! Nay, more, we may hope that, ere long, they 
will have it. The heralds of truth are abroad, and 
doubtless God will guide them to the ends of the 
earth. Let us ever remember them in our prayers: 
and especially let us pray that the "good news" they 
proclaim may prove to all that hear it as cheering and 
enlivening "as cold waters to a thirsty soul." May 
the dim dreams of Paganism, and the opium enchant- 
ments of Islamism, go down together into the darkness 
of eternal oblivion, and the ancient and splendid crea- 
tion of God, the place of his palace and throne, and 
princely habitation of his people, soon become the sole 
object of hope to an intelligent and emigrant world. 

But where is the present "good news" for the igno- 
rant ? It is only this — there is a heaven ! Is not this 
"good news?" Not so, you answer; it is no "news" 
at all. It might be news to a Pagan. It might be 
news to a Mohammedan. But it is no news to us. 
It is knowledge more than a thousand years old. So 



360 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

it is : and much older. The patriarchs knew some- 
thing of heaven. The prophets knew more. We 
know most. We have heard of it from our infancy. 
Scarcely had our eyes opened on the loveliness of our 
native sphere, or our ears been touched by its tender 
and thrilling music, when our pious parents led us 
away, in solemn and wondering thought, to the fairer 
scenes and sweeter voices of the better land. It has 
been the privilege of each one of us, to sit down on 
the threshold of home, after the toils of the day, in 
the calm of the evening twilight, and look up to the 
serene firmament, and see it gradually lose the last 
tints of the sun, and then begin to twinkle with its 
countless stars, and then brighten all over with the 
gentle beauty of the rising moon — while, gazing in 
spirit upon things still higher and holier than all that 
visible pageantry, we have sung, each soul for itself— 



''There is a heaven o'er yonder shies, 
A heaven where pleasure never dies ; 
A heaven I hope ere long to- see, 
Where Christ reserves a place for me ! " 

I repeat the assertion, that such has been our privi- 
lege : but whether this, or any thing similar, has been 
our employment, is a very different matter. Of this 
question, you must judge for yourselves. It is much 
to be feared of some of us, that, if not literally igno- 
rant of heaven, we have strangely neglected or forgot- 
ten it. And, if either of these be the fact, it is needful 
that, although our attention is now for the moment 
fixed on the subject, we should have the great truth 
impressed upon our minds as carefully and with as 
much emphasis as though it were for the first time — 
that there is a heaven ! 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 361 

How strange that any of us should be justly charge- 
able, this day, with the neglect of heaven ! Would 
the olden philosophers have acted thus, had they known 
what we have been taught? Ah! methinks those 
venerable sages, wearing their hoary hair as crowns of 
glory, and bearing their snow-white beards, depending 
low and smooth, as breast-plates of wisdom and peace, 
would have rejoiced to sit at the feet of any little rosy- 
lipped boy, to hear him prattle of heaven, in Christian 
phrase; and would gladly have followed his little foot- 
prints in blessed pilgrimage there. But we, taught 
from our earliest years to pant for admission into the 
glorious kingdom — in later life, alas for us ! have cast 
the choicest symbols of its grandeur and bliss into the 
gulf of forgetfulness. Let me inquire if it be not so. 

First, then, I put the question to the three great 
rulers of the world. Draw near, O Fame! Behold 
this company. Hear our common vaunting. We 
boast of heaven: that we have heard of heaven, and 
been invited to heaven, and have a home in heaven, 
and are on our way to heaven. And now, Fame ! 
declare thy testimony. Whether for us or against us, 
tell all thou knowest. And Fame answers — "You 
have forgotten heaven. You have remembered only, 
or chiefly, the world. Instead of self-denial, you have 
lived in self-indulgence. You have turned your backs 
on Christ, and laid down his cross by the wayside. 
Many of you have knelt at my feet, again and again, 
and pleaded like beggars for the help of my trumpet, 
and a place in my temple." And thou, Pleasure! 
bear thou witness also. And Pleasure replies — "You 
have forgotten heaven. You have worse than wasted 
priceless years in daily dalliance at my garden-gates, 
longing, yet fearing, to enter: calling the charmers 



362 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

from the shades of death, thoughtless of the groups 
that throng the groves of life." And thou, Wealth ! 
we would hear thee, also, painful though it be. And 
Wealth responds — "You have forgotten heaven. A 
thousand times over have you proffered me your services, 
even unto death itself, for a keg of sifted gold-dust. I 
have too much reason to infer, notwithstanding your 
occasional skyward glances, that there are few among 
you wmose better birth-right I could not cheaply buy." 
Alas! my brethren! is there even a particle of truth 
in such accusations as these? If so, the shame, the 
guilt, the danger — who can tell ! 

But, let me appeal to our very possessions. Houses 
and lands ! bear witness ! And hark ! there are voices 
from the chamber and from the field, attesting — "You 
have forgotten heaven, and set your hearts on us. 
You cherish the deceit that you are to remain with us 
forever, and multiply your improvements world with- 
out end." Our closets, our churches, our favorite 
walks, all reproach us. Hark ! " Scarcely a prayer 
for it " — says the closet. " Seldom a thought of it " — 
sighs the sanctuary. And the trees, and hills, and 
glens affirm — "In all your soliloquies, our echoes have 
never yet caught the peerless name of heaven!" 
grief! that our very possessions should criminate us 
thus! 

But, I turn to our friends. Neighbors, relatives, 
wives, children ! all of ye bear witness ! And hark ! 
reluctant voices sadly say — "You have, indeed, forgot- 
ten heaven. You never speak of it, at home or abroad. 
Your "conversation," instead of being "in heaven," 
is all in the world. We have smiled, when we could 
have wept — listening in love to the trifles of time, 
while all that was within us languished for the lofty 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 363 

revelations of eternity." And so — our tearful friends 
condemn us. 

But, I turn to the Bible, also. And what does the 
Bible answer? Hark! " You have forgotten heaven. 
The humbler ones of your households consult my 
oracles for tidings of the sinless sphere — but you refuse 
me a moment's regard." And thus — the Holy Bible 
complains. 

But, still nearer home let me press the inquiry. I 
appeal to Conscience. Conscience! tell us " the truth, 
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." And 
Conscience replies — a You have forgotten heaven. 
Once I prompted you, almost hourly, to 'set your 
affections on things above.' Then you listened with 
joy, and were ready to obey: but now you are deaf 
to the sound, and can scarcely recall its meaning." 
Reason! speak! And Reason answers — "You have 
forgotten heaven : or long ere this you would all have 
entered as pilgrims thither." Imagination! speak! 
And Imagination answers — "You have forgotten 
heaven. In other days, you sent me on many a mission 
to the world of bliss and glory, but now my plumes 
are moulting in lone and silent darkness." Memory! 
speak! And Memory answers — "You have forgotten 
heaven. Years have gone by, since you gave up 
heaven for earth." And so — the very council of the 
soul condemns us. 

And yet, once more — I make one more appeal. I 
go still farther. I go as far as I dare or can go. I 
reverently ask of God himself — Lord! how is it? 
Have we, indeed, forgotten heaven? And the awful 
utterance of the Divine Father comes forth from the 
midst of his unsearchable glory — "Here is heaven! 
My beloved Son laid down his life, to make this inheri- 
tance accessible to you. My holy Spirit has descended, 



364 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

times without number, to remind you of the blessed- 
ness of the place, and the price of its purchase, and 
also to aid you in preparing for its enjoyment. I, too, 
have waited to bid you welcome. But, you have 
rejected my Son, repulsed my Spirit, and dishonored 
me. You have stricken the sceptre of Mercy from her 
hand, and challenged the thunder of Vengeance to its 
quickest and deadliest task. If repentance be not 
speedy and full, I will send you a strong delusion, that 
you may believe a lie and be damned : be banished 
from the heaven you are willing to forego, and be 
plunged into the hell you are afraid to foresee." And 
thus — our God condemns us. Ah! what are we to 
God? And why should we thus provoke the wrath 
of him who delights in pity and kindness ? 

And what now ? Is it not too true that we have 
forgotten or neglected heaven? Fame, Pleasure, and 
Wealth ; our Possessions and Friends ; the Bible and 
the Soul ; and even God himself — all unite in the conclu- 
sion that we have forgotten it. And how then is it, 
that "good news" from heaven is no news to us? But 
we have not forgotten it — some of you vainly persist 
in declaring. And dare you say so, in the presence of 
such opposing authorities? I cannot credit your 
tongues, contradicted, as they are, by such decisive 
evidence. Besides, in the very next breath, you con- 
tradict yourselves : proving, by all your language, that 
if a single trace of heaven still linger in your minds, 
it is a drowsy, dreamy notion, and that the heaven of 
your wakeful hours, your substantial heaven, the 
heaven you really covet and earnestly pursue — is the 
wild and wicked world ! 

Can it be, that any are so egregiously self-deceived, 
that they supposed me to allude to the world when I 
said— there is a heaven? If so, then the "good news" 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 365 

I bring, will still be news to such.: for surely the 
heaven of which I speak is infinitely different from 
this. In particular, it is not so near at hand. Oh, no ! 
it is a "far country" — beyond the seas, beyond the 
clouds, beyond the skies, beyond the stars — far, far 
beyond all. Here, then, is news ; and good news, too : 
for the heaven to which I refer is worth as many worlds 
like this as would arch the space from star to star, and 
bridge the universe. Then hear, still hear the news — ■ 
there is a heaven ! 

It was said by Cowper, and has been, and will be, 
unceasingly repeated, that — 

"God made the country, but man made the town." 

True: Nineveh, Babylon, and Thebes; Jerusalem, 
Athens, and Rome ; London, Paris, and New York ; 
these and countless other cities of the earth, whether 
fallen or flourishing — man made them all. Not only 
so — but, man might make, if he would, with all ease, 
a single city, incomparably more magnificent, complete, 
and illustrious, than all the cities of the past and 
present combined would be. There is nothing in 
which the childishness and selfishness of our race are 
so obvious, as in the structure of our cities. Nature, 
though itself in ruins, presents a contrast that everlast- 
ingly shames the littleness and meanness of our unequal, 
unhandsome, unhealthy and unbrotherly architecture. 
Any man of mind, in a few minutes, may outline a 
city inexpressibly surpassing any the earth has ever 
known. 

But there is one city "whose builder and maker is 
God." Man could not improve it, even in thought. 
Imagination pales in the presence of this vision, and 
confesses itself infinitely overpowered. It would not 



366 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

dare to dream that even God himself could make the 
vast perfection more complete. Every outline is per- 
fect. Every inline is perfect. Every group of struc- 
tures is perfect. Every separate structure is perfect. 
The whole harmonious immensity of grandeur, beauty 
and splendor, is the highest architectural ideal in the 
intellect of Jehovah, revealed and embodied in a fault- 
less material correspondent, and transfigured into the 
very glory of the immaterial. 

That city "hath foundations" — foundations as imper- 
ishable as the attributes of its builder. It deserves 
such foundations. It never can be overthrown. It 
never can be shaken. It never can be impaired, in 
any particular, or in the slightest degree. If the blue 
sky, with all its stars, were cast on the rounded side 
of one of its domes, the flimsy but sparkling tissue 
would melt from the shining surface like a web of 
gossamer sprinkled with dew. 

It is the New Jerusalem : oh ! wonderful honor for 
the huts on the hill of Zion, to transfer their name to 
the City of God, in the midst of heaven! If the 
earthly city could be made to extend and multiply its 
streets, until they should gird and cover the globe, and 
its golden palaces should lift their turrets to the purer 
airs and perpetual lights above the clouds, still what a 
memory of nothingness were this, in the remotest 
contemplation of the city above! " Before the moun- 
tains were brought forth, or ever God had formed the 
earth and the world," that only city, which is worthy 
the name of a city, was populous with angels and arch- 
angels, cherubim and seraphim, high and mighty rulers 
of all humbler things of the Highest — at the base of 
whose seats of pomp and power, the congregated 
thrones of a thousand planets like this might be 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 367 

strewn and forgotten, even as the fragments of myriads 
of icy avalanches lie unnoticed at the foot of the Mon- 
arch of the Alps, whose crystal pinnacle, seemingly 
detached by its solitary height, gleams like a meteor in 
the zenith of the firmament. For eighteen hundred 
years, our ascended Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has 
been preparing that royal metropolis for the reception 
of his people, redeemed from the thraldom of Satan 
and from the doom of hell. Therefore he said, to his 
sorrowing disciples, before his departure from them : 
"In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were 
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a 
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for 
you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; 
that where I am, there ye may be also." Thank 
God ! that the faithful can look forward to such a des- 
tiny ! And ye, poor forgetful ones ! indulge again 
the thought of heaven. So long have ye neglected it, 
that now the very name of it should come like "good 
news" to your awakened minds, and refresh your 
weary hearts as the thirsty pilgrim is refreshed by the 
cold-flowing fountain. How has the world disappointed 
you ! Or, even if its promises have all been fufilled, 
how far their fulfillment falls short of your wish ! 
Surely you need a better portion. Nay, more, the 
better portion awaits your acceptance. There is a 
heaven: and here is "good news" from heaven, for 
you. He who is "exalted" there as "a Prince," is also 
exalted as "a Saviour — to give repentance to Israel, 
and forgiveness of sins." In him, after all, every peni- 
tent may find pardon, and peace, and full salvation. 

But not with these is my chief concern to-day. I 
come to bring "good news" to the faithful. However 
various the circumstances of true believers, I have 
"good news" for all. 



368 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

For instance — are yon poor? Has it seemed at 
times as though Providence had deserted yon? Have 
all your efforts to secure an honorable competency 
proved in vain ? At the same time, have you seen the 
industry and enterprise of your neighbors apparently 
blest of God; and daily increase of good flowing in 
like a tide upon them, filling every receptacle ? Have 
you wondered at your own failures ; tried to ascertain 
their causes, formed wiser plans, and pursued them 
with more caution and diligence — but still been disap- 
pointed? Have you even feared that you may yet 
want the commonest articles of food and raiment, and 
be driven forth from your last shelter ? And still have 
you said of the Lord — " Though he slay me, yet will I 
trust in him?" Well, cheer up, child of poverty! 
cheer up ! As you have sought, "first, the kingdom 
of God, and his righteousness," all things needful to 
natural subsistence "shall be added unto you." There 
is no apology for doubt. It must be so. But, more 
than this: lo! I bring you "good news from a far 
country." You are not so poor as you seem. Nay, 
you are rich. You are heir to vast and splendid pos- 
sessions. Not, indeed, in the Far "West: not in any 
part of the Old World — the home, it may be, of your 
once renowned ancestry — but in heaven is your por- 
tion. ~No poverty is there! Millions of good men 
have left the earth poor: but never has one entered 
heaven poor. Lazarus, the moment before he died, 
was a beggar at the gate: but, in a moment after 
death, his estate was grown so vast, that the haughty 
worldling, still surviving in all his affluence, in com- 
parison with him was only a penniless pauper. 0, 
poor believer! rejoice in prospect of your grand inherit- 
ance! It is "incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth not 
away. ' ' It is really immense, inestimable, unspeakable* 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 369 

Has it not been your endeavor to " lay up (for yourself) 
treasures in heaven?" Why not oftener think of 
results there ? Fear not. There is " good news from" 
that "far country." Unsuccessful as you may have 
seemed on earth, your heavenly schemes have all pros- 
pered. The treasury of God overflows with your 
wealth. And it is safe — perfectly safe. Neither "moth 
nor rust" corrupts it: nor can "thieves" break through 
to steal it. Moreover, it shall increase— forever in- 
crease. As long as you live on earth, you may add to 
the principal : and its interest will multiply, beyond all 
computation, to all eternity. Croesus was rich, Solo- 
mon was rich, Lucullus was rich, and the Rothschilds 
are rich — but the humblest heir of God is richer far 
than all. It may be that the stores you have already 
accumulated in heaven, would buy this town, buy 
the district, buy our country, buy the world — and still 
be comparatively untouched. Nay, think not this 
extravagant ! I would not barter the heritage of the 
most destitute of Christians for the whole globe and 
all its improvements. Lift up your heart, my poor, 
depressed brother! lift up your heart: let it expand, 
and fill and overflow with bliss. At the close of your 
short journey through time, you will see eternity open- 
ing before you, all radiant with the variety of your own 
boundless and endless possessions. Be not proud, 
indeed — alas, for the folly of all pride ! — but, be grate- 
ful, thankful, hopeful, and happy. 

Again — are you persecuted ? Have you had painful 
experience of the fact, that there are some who dislike 
the good man, and endeavor to injure his reputation, 
and impede his advancement, simply because of his 
goodness ? Have the very persons who smiled upon 

you, and talked kindly to you, and spoke well of you, 

24 



370 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

and proffered you their assistance, when you were a 
sinner, turned against you, and opposed you, since you 
took up the cross and gave yourself to God ? Nay — 
have some of your very relatives acted thus? And 
have you, on the contrary, been conscious of more 
love to them than ever: and tried to manifest it by 
every mode of avoiding offence and affording pleasure : 
and marveled that the more affection you have felt and 
showed toward them, the more embittered and abusive 
they have become toward you? Marvel not! It is 
only the craft of the evil one, who, enraged at your 
escape from his service, would so discourage and dis- 
tress you, in your new and better course, as to make 
you desirous of retracing your steps and resuming your 
olden chains. Beware of his arts ! Stay your mind 
on God, and he will keep it in perfect peace. fc Rejoice, 
again I say, rejoice ! 

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, 
I will not, I will not, desert to its foes ; 
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, 
I'll never, no never, no never forsake! " 

And more, abundantly more — I bring you, also, 
"good news from a far country." The Angel of 
Truth, standing at the throne of God, and surveying 
all the holy and happy ranks that surround it, an- 
nounces, for our relief, that there are no persecu- 
tors in heaven! Delightful message! No abuse, 
no slander, no censure, no complaint, no dislike, 
and no unkindness, there ! Here, even the brow of 
friendship sometimes darkens with a frown : and lips 
of gentle love let fall some wounding words — but it is 
not so in heaven. There all is approval, and blessing, 
and joy. "Well done, good and faithful servants!" 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 371 

is the familiar commendation from the Lord himself: 
and so, whenever heard, from saint to saint, and from 
angel to angel, through all the shining hosts, the cheer- 
ful music, like an echo, glides — "Well done! well 
done!" If one in heaven walk alone, the fairest 
flowers that flush his path with tints that never fade, 
are not so winning as the pleasant smile that greets 
them. Or, if he pass from group to group, through 
all the brilliant circles of the blest, he sees a kindred 
smile on every kindling countenance. And his smile, 
and their smiles, all gleam with the sympathetic senti- 
ment — We live in love, and so in God: for God is 
love ! And such an one would as soon expect to see 
the light unapproachable change into the blackness of 
darkness, as to witness the moral midnight of persecu- 
tion overshading the cordialities of heaven. Well 
may we exclaim, " heaven ! sweet heaven ! " and add 
the fond inquiries, "When shall we see? when shall 
we get there?" For surely, in itself, it is "better," 
and even * far better," to " depart, and be with Christ." 
Then lift your head, denounced and desponding Chris- 
tian! lift up your head, and triumph in your God. 
That same head, even though it bleed now with the 
prints of pressed thorns, shall yet be honored with a 
crown of glory. 

Again — are you tempted? Has Satan folded his 
pinions in your path, in the guise of an Angel of 
Light, just sent from the mercy-seat? Has he then 
ventured upon your admiration, and shaken pearls 
from his plumes, like dew-drops from the wings of an 
eagle, and offered you all, and more, for one vow of 
allegiance and service ? Has the world drawn near, as 
a maiden in her first bloom, showering roses at your 
feet, holding the sparkling chalice to your lips, and 



372 GOOD NEWS FROM A PAR COUNTRY. 

claiming, in blandest tones, a share in your affections ? 
And, more to be dreaded than either or both, have 
you heard the silence and solitude of your soul startled 
by the voice of your own passions, prompting you, 
with all earnestness, to take the pearls, and drink the 
wine, and live as your tempters bid ? And have you 
been troubled by day, and tormented by night, until 
you were almost ready to yield — but still resisted, look- 
ing toward heaven? If so, I beseech you, turn not 
away from the sublime contemplation. Blessed be 
God! I have "good news" for you, from that "far 
country." There is no tempter in heaven ! On earth, 
every land, every city, every house, is open to the evil 
visitation. Nay, every heart is constantly exposed to 
some insidious solicitor. Even Eden — the garden of 
the Lord — and the heart of Eve — the purest that ever 
beat in the bosom of woman — were not safe from the 
foul incursion. Alas for us, that the tempter succeeded ! 
Hence all our sin, and shame, and woe. But, in hea- 
ven, the eye never sees, the ear never hears, the mind 
never knows, and the heart never feels, the form or 
voice, the thought or sense, of any temptation. "Fear 
not!" says he who was once "tempted in all points 
like as we are, yet without sin:" "Fear not!" says 
the Saviour; and his joyful people march along, on the 
hill-tops of glory, singing, as they march — 

"The message we hear, 
And we will not fear, 
For a Tempter in glory shall never appear." 

Be of good courage, therefore, tempted one ! Say 
to your soul, "the Lord is my light and my salvation; 
whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my 
life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Only resist the 



GOOD NEWS FEOM A FAR COUNTRY. 373 

devil, and lie will flee from you. Only neglect the 
world, and the world will soon resign you to the com- 
pany of religion. Only deny yourself, and the Spirit 
of Christ will safely conduct you to the bowers of per- 
fect peace. 

But again: Are you bereaved ? Has Death deprived 
you of the society of some whom most you loved? 
And have you often thought, since their departure, 
that they were even more worthy of your love than 
you ever imagined them to be, while yet they lived ? 
Have you said to yourself, Oh, I should have loved 
them more, and prized their affection more highly, and 
returned their kindness more fondly? And then, have 
you wept to think how much you did love them, and 
how much they loved you, and what acts of tenderness 
passed between you, until their images have become 
so vivid that you have seemed to see their very persons 
standing before you, and smiling upon you, and search- 
ing your inmost soul with their life-like eyes: and 
then, has the reality suddenly startled you with the 
awful assurance — Alas ! it is all a dream : they are in 
the grave, the dark and silent grave? Tell me, my 
brother ! tell me, my sister ! is this your mournful con- 
dition ? and is it thus that your spirit holds its daily 
inquest? Then tell me, further — Who are in the 
grave ? Methinks I catch your answers : Our infant 
child — say the young parents. Our grown-up son, or 
daughter — say other parents, venerable with age, and 
drooping with infirmity. My wife— -responds the tremu- 
lous husband. My husband — falters the tearful widow. 
Our father, our mother — say the lonely children. My 
brother, my sister — say others, still further bereft. But 
tell me, again : How long have they laid in the grave ? 
Some answer, many years : others, a few years : others, 



374 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

one year: others, a few months: others, only a few 
weeks, or days. But tell me, once more : Where are 
their spirits ? Surely they were not laid in the grave ! 
Where then, Christian mourners! where are the 
spirits of your loved ones? The very question sug- 
gests the forethought of my news : for I come to-day 
especially to you, with news, "good news," of all 
whom you have lost. Certainly, they are in the " far 
country" of which I have been speaking: all there, all 
in heaven. Have you heard from them, since their 
departure? Ah, not a word, a single word. But, do 
you wish to hear from them ? yes — your smitten 
hearts reply — nothing could delight us so much as 
such intelligence. And what would you wish to hear? 

Ask the sad mother, who sits in her evening chair, 
smoothing in her hand a glossy curl from the head of 
her long absent sailor boy — thinking, weeping, praying. 
He embarked for a distant port — he has reached " a far 
country." Ask her what tidings she would like to 
hear from her son. And she will kiss the smoothed 
hair, and press it to her bosom, and answer — Oh, tell 
me that he is alive : tell me that he is well : tell me 
that he is happy : and tell me that mine eyes shall behold 
Mm once more! 

And do you desire to hear similar tidings of your 
beloved ones ? Surely, you may hear them. Do not 
think you may not. I bring you precisely such news — 
"good news from a far country," full of refreshing 
"as cold waters to a thirsty soul." 

You say, they have been dead so long. But I reply, 
and the God of eternity sanctions the saying — not so, 
my friends ! not so : they have been alive all the time. 
They are alive now. They always will be alive. They 
cannot die. Immortal life is theirs. You are no more 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 375 

alive on earth, than they are in heaven : nay, not so 
much alive, for you bear about with you "the body of 
this death," and they are free from it. Your neighbor 
lives, though in another house; your friend lives, 
though in another street, or city, or State: and so — 
your child, or wife, or husband, or father, or mother, 
or brother, or sister — lives, though in another world. 

And yet more — are you well? They are better — 
infinitely better. How they suffered, while here, and 
especially, it may be, in their last sickness! What 
fever, what pain, what oppression of brain, or heart, 
or lungs, they endured ! But now, they mingle with 
the inhabitants of that genial sphere, in which the 
words are never uttered— " I am sick!" 

"No chilling winds, or poisonous breath, 
Can reach that healthful shore; 
Sickness and sorrow, pain and death, 
Are felt and feared no more!" 

Again — are you happy? They are happier — unspeaka- 
bly happier. All that you hope for — they have secured. 
However "great" their "tribulation" in this world, it 
is all forgotten in the other. They "have washed their 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve 
him day and night in his temple : and he that sitteth 
on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall 
hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall 
the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, 
which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, 
and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: 
and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." 

But still, though assured that they are, indeed, 
alive, and well, and happy, you are chiefly intent on 



376 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

the question — whether you shall see them again. See 
them! Certainly, you shall see them — every one of 
them — and that in good time ! For aught we know, 
the sailor boy, who is just about leaving Europe for 
his American home and the grateful welcome of his 
widowed mother, will not reach mid-ocean, until some 
of you shall have seen and embraced your friends 
in heaven. 

True : they cannot return to you. Perhaps, if the 
providence of God allowed their appearance, they 
would return. Nay, methinks their continued and 
increased love for you, would be sure to bring them 
back. Often, for short intervals, at least, they would 
bid farewell to the bowers of bliss, and, descending in 
all their new and immortal beauty, they would sit by 
your side, or attend your walks, within or around their 
old and humble dwellings, ever discoursing, grandly, 
but gently, of the glories and raptures of the upper 
and better world, exhorting you to prepare for your 
own translation, and encouraging you to expect it as a 
triumph of grace and peace. But, if this be not 
allowed — if they cannot return to you — at any rate, it 
is allowed, or rather ordained, that you may go to them. 
Ay, and you are going to them. Every day shortens 
the time ; every step diminishes the distance. A few 
days, a few hours, a few steps more — and the meeting 
will occur. Then cheer up, mourners ! cheer up, and 
cherish the "good news from a far country." Keep it 
in mind, like tones of rarest music, dropping from a 
seraph's harp-strings. Hoard it in your heart of hearts, 
like the sweetness of honey and the honeycomb. And 
oh, if the feeble and pining mother, who sees her 
long-gone sea boy, all sun-burnt and joyous, re-entering 
her desolate cottage, starts up with renewed vigor, and 



GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 377 

rushes forward to fall on his neck in all the ecstacy of 
sudden restoration — how will you thrill with a thousand 
richer transports, when your vision shall open on the 
glorified groups of your sainted ones in heaven, all 
hastening, in beauty and blessing beyond your hope, 
and with love more glowing, pure, and sweet than ever, 
to meet you at the gate, and guide and welcome you 
to your home in the City of God forever. 

But, ere I close, I catch the sound of many anxious 
voices. Some speak of their friends at home. Sick- 
ness or infirmity detains them. They cannot come to 
the sanctuary: and yet would love to hear the "good 
news from a far country." Others, again, are blind; 
others, deaf and dumb; others, mutilated by various 
accidents ; others, in different ways depressed by some 
of the innumerable ills of life. It is well to remember 
them. What a holy thing is sympathy — how Christ- 
like, how divine! What then? Are our absent 
friends believers, also ? Are they, too, daily engaged 
in the love and service of God ? If so, become ye the 
bearers of the "good news" to every one of them. 
Tell them, that in the "far country" of heaven, the 
evils of earth are unknown. Tell them, that there 
the eyes of those once blind, behold "the king in his 
beauty, and the land of far distances." Tell them, 
that there the ears, once deaf, are open to the choicest 
melodies and mightiest harmonies in all the universe. 
Tell them, that there the tongue, once dumb, excels 
all earthly thought of eloquence, in prompt discourse 
and perfect praise. Tell them, that there the form, 
once maimed, assumes proportions worthy of a God. 
Tell them, that there the face, once pale with sickness, 
puts on an instant bloom that will not fade forever. 
Tell them, that there the gentle stoop and hoary brow 



378 GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY. 

of age recover fairest youth — in shape, and strength, 
and grace, erect and all immortal. Tell them, no 
matter what their current griefs may he, that u all 
things work together for good to them that love God," 
and that "the sufferings of this present time are not 
worthy to he compared with the glory that shall be 
revealed in us." In a word, return from the house of 
God, to every "house of mourning," and speak aright 
of holiness and heaven; and so shall you prove, in 
your own hearts, and in the avowed experience of all 
to whom you minister, that, especially with this appli- 
cation of the proverb — "As cold waters to a thirsty 
soul, so is good news from a far country." 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 



'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Cok. 15: 26. 

In the Sacred Scriptures, our Lord Jesus Christ is 
appropriately styled "the Captain of our Salvation." 
As such, he regards our enemies as his enemies : ana 
is always engaged in the great work of achieving their 
universal and everlasting overthrow. Does Satan rise 
against us? He falls again, "like lightning," smitten 
by the hand of the Son of God. Does Sin oppose us ? 
Lo ! Sin lies prostrate in the dust, and the foot of the 
Holy One rests on his neck. And so — does Death 
reign over us ? Alas ! Death does, indeed, reign : but, 
blessed be God ! his triumph shall be short. His sub- 
jugation — nay, his utter ruin — is at hand. He shall 
not only be dethroned, but destroyed. Ay, he, the 
great spoiler of our race — who has laid waste not only 
one land but all lands, and not only one generation 
but all generations; carrying into the darkest and 
dreariest of all captivities the one, vast, continuous, 
solemn procession, which has been slowly and tearfully 
passing for nearly six thousand years, and the end of 
which is but just beginning to be seen — yes, thou ! 
Death! cold-hearted tyrant! old as thou art, and 
mighty as thou art; although thou shalt survive all 
others, and be our last enemy, as thou wast one of our 
first; yet know — aha! even now thou tremblest at 
the voice of truth ! — yes, know, thine hour rolls swiftly 
on : soon shalt thou be destroyed ! 

(379) 



380 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

Forgive me, brethren! this apparently premature 
boasting. I would not exult over a human enemy — 
but pity, pardon, and bless him. And yet, I cannot 
do otherwise than glory over the decreed discomfiture 
of death. Where are the illustrious of our race — 
illustrious for genius and science, for bravery and 
beauty, for deeds sublime of wisdom, heroism, and 
grace ? Or, forgetting admiration in the greater inten- 
sity of love — where are the dear ones of our own 
hearts and homes? Our parents, our partners, our 
children — the sweet ones of our inmost and purest 
affections — where are they ? Let death answer. And 
must not we, too, decline into the silent valley, and 
disappear in the shadowy darkness? What then? 
Thank God for the hope, the assurance, the certainty 
of final and complete victory! We ought to exult. 
We will exult. Notwithstanding the sad contempla- 
tion of the present, we will cherish the glad anticipa- 
tion of the future, and exclaim with the Apostle — 
"Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

You see, then, the subject of discourse — the destruc- 
tion of death: or, the resurrection and its incidents — 
one of the most important doctrines of the Christian 
system. Such a subject well demands, and will 
abundantly reward, our best attention. 

Let us notice, first, the certainty of the resurrection. 
This is derived, solely, from the authoritative announce- 
ments of the Bible— as a revelation from God. 

The mythological and philosophical schemes of 
Pagan antiquity, so far as I am aware of their charac- 
ter, are silent on this subject. They contain many 
imaginings of the immortality of the soul : but nothing 
in relation to the resurrection of the body. The poets, 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 881 

priests, and sages were alike ignorant of the occasion 
of death. They regarded death as an essential part of 
the divine arrangements — an event originally designed 
and ordained for desirable "but inscrutable purposes: 
or else, as a matter of fate, an issue naturally inevitable. 
Of course, they expected no change in this order of 
things — supposed no necessity or reason for the recovery 
of the body from its common doom. It might be 
burnt to ashes, or in any way apparently annihilated, 
without shocking any prejudices, or interfering with 
any hopes, concerning its future destiny. 

So it is, I believe, with the Paganism of the modern 
world. I know not that in any of its departments it 
exhibits any provision for the resurrection of the body? 
or any promise of such a consummation. 

We return, therefore, to the Bible. Here, I repeat, 
is the whole support of the doctrine. On the authority 
of this book, as a work far superior to human inven- 
tion—a radiation from an orb infinitely higher than 
reason, and brighter than fancy — a direct and decisive 
disclosure from the God of Nature himself- — rests this 
asserted certainty of the resurrection. 

That the Bible is honored with the supreme sanction 
claimed for it, I need not attempt to prove. Here, at 
least, its inspiration is conceded. That it is the text 
book of our ministry, and the standard by which you 
judge of the propriety of our instructions, is sufficient 
evidence of our mutual and thorough conviction that 
it possesses the character it claims. 

Taking it for granted, therefore, that the text itself, 
the chapter from which it is selected, the epistle of 
which it is a part — in a word, that the whole book 
before us, is from God : the certainty of the resurrec- 
tion must remain undoubted. It is explicitly declared, 



382 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

frequently repeated, and amply illustrated. It appears 
in every form of proposition, promise, and prophecy. 
And, more than all, clearer than all, and stronger than 
all, clear as the cloudless sky and strong as the noon- 
tide sun, absolutely irresistible in convicting and con- 
firming energy, it is actually exemplified, and so visibly 
and tangibly foreshown and pledged, in the resurrection 
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is the 
"first fruit" from the great harvest field; and the full 
ingathering will follow in due time. 

What then ? The resurrection is certain, because it 
is revealed. Nothing is revealed that is not reasonable. 
As believers, therefore, in the revelation of it, we 
affirm, also, the reasonableness of the resurrection. 

Now, there are many doctrines which, before their 
revelation, were inaccessible to reason, but, once 
declared, are found consonant with reason. In other 
words, although reason alone could never have dis- 
covered them, yet, being discovered by a higher agency, 
reason instantly discerns their truth and fitness. The 
doctrine of the resurrection is one of these. I shall 
endeavor to show, therefore, the grounds of this 
accordance. 

The doctrine of the resurrection, then, is reasonable, 
because, in the first place, it vindicates the glory of God. 

One of the elements of God's glory is his power. 
He is able to accomplish whatever he designs. 

Apply this truth to the topic before us. What did 
God design, when he created man, in regard to the 
continuance of his existence ? I answer — he designed 
him to live forever. This is evident from the whole 
history of the case. The human constitution was 
perfect : and, of course, was fit to live forever. There 
was no necessity for the dissolution of the body, in 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 383 

order to the obtainment of a new and better one'. 
Moreover, the condition in which this perfect constitu- 
tion was placed, was correspondingly perfect. The 
airs, and streams, and fruits were all attempered to the 
prospect of immortality. The Tree of Life, in par- 
ticular, was the appointed symbol and support of it. 
There was no necessity for the blighting of Eden, to 
secure the succession of some fairer and richer estate. 
Besides, the very threatening of death as the penalty 
of sin, and the restoration of immortality as the result 
of redemption, conclusively attest the design as stated. 

How then has it come to pass that the divine inten- 
tion is defeated? I answer — it is not defeated. This 
is not a correct representation of the fact. The plan 
is merely suspended. 

But why suspended ? On account of sin. "By one 
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." 

But is not this suspension dishonoring to the Deity ? 
Nay — rather it shall promote his glory. It does not 
involve even the possibility of an abandonment of the 
primitive purpose. Ultimately, "As in Adam all die, 
so in Christ shall all be made alive." Moreover, 
during all the interval, the wonders of redeeming 
grace display the divine perfections in otherwise 
unimaginable tenderness and splendor. 

But, suppose there should be no resurrection ! "What 
then ? The design of God would be defeated. Man, 
instead of living forever, would dwindle into an 
existence of a moment, and then the silence of eternity 
would settle on his tomb. Sin would be triumphant. 
It would prove stronger than omnipotence. It would 
be the master principle of the universe. Of course, 
all things would tend to irreparable decay — to complete 
ruin. The ear of the Lord might not be heavy : he 



384 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

might still hear. But his arm would be shortened : it 
could not save. To use a bold figure, but without the 
slightest irreverence — Jehovah might sit on the central 
throne of creation and weep over the withering mag- 
nificence and beauty he could neither rescue nor 
renew. The thought is shocking. It can be tolerated 
no longer. But, how may it be avoided? Only by 
introducing the doctrine of the resurrection. Let it be 
seen that God can repair the consequences of sin. Let 
the long and deep stillness of the sepulchre echo with 
the majesty of his voice. Let the bolts break and the 
gates open at the sound. Let light from heaven pour 
in upon the darkness. Let the dead come forth at his 
call, invested with the bloom and thrilling with the 
vigor of immortality. And is not the glory of God 
vindicated ? And is not the doctrine reasonable, which 
furnishes this vindication ? Who can doubt ? 

But the doctrine is reasonable, because, in the 
second place, it provides for the restoration of man to 
the perfection he has lost. The human constitution 
originally combined a perfect soul with a perfect body. 
It is impossible to regain our proper character without 
the reunion of these perfections. They are essential 
to the completeness of our nature, and the establish- 
ment of our rightful and elevated rank in the scale of 
existence. 

Kow, the gospel makes abundant provision for the 
perfection of the soul. The heart, even here, is tho- 
roughly purified by faith and love, and has every 
promise of future expansion in the full beauty of the 
goodness of God. In like manner, the mind is greatly 
enlightened and strengthened in this world, and as- 
sured of all desirable development and accomplishment 
in the world to come. And, so far, all is satisfactory. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 385 

But suppose there should be no resurrection. What 
then ? The separate and organless spirit would be left 
with an everlasting sense of want. Although the 
better half of the man, still, it would be only half. 
Human nature, though in heaven, would remain in- 
complete. The anomalous being would be neither 
angel nor animal ; nor yet a compound of both. The 
place which we now occupy, between matter alone and 
spirit alone, uniting the two by being formed of 
both, would then be vacant. This link in the chain 
of creation would be broken, and the disconnected 
parts would fly widely asunder. It would appear as if 
God had changed his plan, and man was made an 
involuntary sufferer. Such results are not to be enter- 
tained. But how shall we escape them? Only by 
recurring to the doctrine of the resurrection. Let the 
body be renewed in primal dignity. Let it be re- 
united to the sanctified spirit. Then man is complete. 
Then he is reinstated in the grandeur of his original 
constitution. Then he stands forth confest as a child 
of God and an heir of all things : allied by his body to 
the material universe, akin by his soul to all spiritual 
existence, yet holding a rank distinct from each, be- 
tween the two, and, like the earth, with the sun on one 
side and the moon on the other, deriving glory from 
both. Is not the anticipation of this entire recovery of 
our lost excellence, reasonable ? Is not the doctrine that 
excites and sustains it, a reasonable doctrine ? I cannot 
but esteem it so, and trust to your accordance with me. 

Regarding the resurrection, therefore, as scripturally 
certain, and in itself reasonable, let us now proceed to 
the manner of it, as involving its agent and subjects. 

As to the agent, he is none other than the Lord 
Jesus Christ. So he himself declares, that "the hour 

25 



386 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

is coming, in the which all that are in their graves 
shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." And so, 
the Apostle, in the chapter "before us, proclaiming 
Jesus as the great Mediatorial Prince, announces that 
"he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his 
feet," and that "the last enemy that shall he destroyed 
is death." 

Think of the present residence and high estate of 
Christ. It were useless, under current circumstances, 
to offer any conjectures regarding the relative situation 
of his residence. All we know of it, is its scriptural 
name and character. He resides in heaven — the world 
of glory. There he sitteth on "the right hand of 
God ; angels, and authorities, and powers heing made 
subject unto him." There, "the Father of glory" 
hath set him on an incomparable elevation, "far above 
all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, 
and every name that is named, not only in this world, 
but also in that which is to come." Now, as this is 
the station assigned him, not on earth, or in an}^ infe- 
rior world, but in heaven itself — the centre and balance 
of the universe — the splendid and peerless capital of 
the empire of immensity — there can be no doubt of 
his ability, as the elect agent in this great work, to 
give it full and perfect accomplishment. 

If, however, even while contemplating the heavenly 
majesty of Christ, a strange doubt should enter the 
mind in regard to the sufficiency of his power — which 
I deem almost impossible — a simple reference to his 
past abode and humble condition on earth, would 
immediately dispel the doubt. For, under those cir- 
cumstances of apparent imbecility and depression, 
clothed with the form of a servant, and encompassed 
by many infirmities, he did raise the dead, did change 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 387 

the living, and so practically exemplified and illustrated 
his control over all the conditions of life and death. 
Heaven and earth, therefore, both attest his energy. 
He is thoroughly qualified for the task. 

But, notice the manner of his coming to perform it. 
The time of his coming, cannot, indeed, be foretold. 
The style of it, however, is substantially revealed. 
This will be glorious. When he shall quit the gates 
of heaven, on this triumphant occasion, he will not 
leave his grandeur behind him, as he did at the time 
of his former advent. On the contrary, all the living 
pomp and gorgeous array of the world of worlds will 
shine in his train. He will "come in his glory, and 
all the holy angels with him." So he will issue from 
the vacancy of heaven: so he will break upon the 
vision of the astonished earth: descending "from 
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 
and with the trump of God." 

What a scene is opened by these few words ! Think 
of heaven. Think of the announcement there of the 
intended transit and its stupendous objects! Think 
of the summons to all the radiant hosts to prepare to 
accompany their Lord. Think of their rapturous 
anxiety, their prompt and magnificent preparation, and 
the vast display of their peerless ranks, in instant 
readiness to move. Think of that tall and mighty 
archangel, humbly approaching the throne of the Re- 
deemer, and receiving from his hand, for its desig- 
nated and sublime office, the thunder-toned trumpet 
of God. Think of the adorable Mediator, himself, 
stepping down from his throne, and taking his place 
at the head of his worshiping legions, far more efful- 
gent than when his three disciples saw him transfigured 
on the mount, and shining like the sun — ineffably 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

more radiant than when he appeared to Saul of Tarsus, 
in the neighborhood of Damascus, dazzling the noon- 
day sun into sudden and total darkness. Think of 
their burning beauty, as they stretch their endless 
lines along the borders of the better world. And then 
think of their swift but long-drawn flight: cherub, 
and seraph, angel and archangel, innumerable orders 
each with innumerable members, and the Son of the 
Highest in the lead — all afloat in the infinitude of 
space, and hastening toward the earth. 

And now — think of the earth itself — still sweeping 
round its orbit — glittering with the day and gleaming 
with the night — rustling its continents, rolling its 
oceans, curling its clouds, and bending its skies — 
rushing on its course as though Omnipotence itself 
could not check its momentum. And yet — think of 
the unconscious calmness of all its inhabitants. Hunt- 
ers in the wilderness, farmers in the fields, citizens in 
the streets, and sailors on the seas; high and low, 
rich and poor, bond and free, the aged and the young, 
the sick and the healthy, the living and the dying ; of 
all colors, all tribes, all languages, all religions; all 
engaged in all interests and all employments; and 
without the slightest apprehension or expectation of 
the immense, intense, and illustrious assemblage so 
rapidly approaching ! 

Yes — an illustrious assemblage ! Not one star only, 
like that which beamed over the stable of Bethlehem ; 
but myriads more than were ever seen in all the sky 
before ! Not one band of angels only, like that which 
startled the shepherds, and woke their witless but 
wondering flocks; but ten thousand times ten thou 
sand, and thousands upon thousands of thousands; 
coming down, not at night, but at noonday ; not upon 



THE DESTRUCTION OE DEATH. 389 

a few fields only, but to stretch their legions from pole 
to pole ; and not to sing over the sleeping beauty of 
an infant Saviour, reposing in a manger ; nor yet to 
lament over the bleeding cross of shameful, painful, 
voluntary, sin-atoning sacrifice; but, to witness the 
sudden and utter destruction of the last enemy of 
man, by the all victorious Son of God. 

Oh, how strange — surpassing strange ! See ! Cities 
shining, fleets sailing, vapors rising, clouds gliding; 
all birds, from the largest to the smallest, abroad in 
all the air; even aeronauts ascending, and crowds 
gazing after them into the otherwise inaccessible and 
apparently unoccupied skies. 

But — hark ! a distant shout in those skies ! a mystic 
shout ! a mighty shout ! a shout from a world of 
voices ! a renewed, all-subduing, and omnipotent shout ! 
And see! the gleaming, shining, spreading, flying, 
hastening hosts, circling and crowding the boundless 
heavens ! Behold the prostate nations ! trembling with 
death-like awe, while still, above, around, through all 
the scope of the firmament, roll the reverberations of 
that infinite shouting! Oh, for a pulse! Oh, for a 
breath ! All nature stands in statue-like surprise ! — ■ 
transfixed, hushed, motionless ! Oh that the blood 
would flow from the full, still heart ! Oh that a 
wind — some cool and blessed wind — -would blow upon 
the face of the fainting earth ! 

Again! — but only one voice now. HarkU It is 
the herald archangel! announcing the close of time, 
and the judgment of the world. Feel it, feel it — how 
the earth quakes at the sound of his oath sublime: 
"By him that liveth forever and ever, who created 
heaven and the things that therein are ; and the earth, 
and the things that therein are ; and the sea, and the 



390 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

things which are therein ; I swear — that there shall be 
time no longer! " 

And again ! Oh, how sharp that startling trumpet ! 
that piercing, thrilling, pealing, rolling, deep-searching, 
far-winding, and long-lingering trumpet! And see! 
the universal effect ! How the land moves ! How the 
sea stirs ! How mankind increase ! How the world 
is thronged ! Behold the rising race ! — the nations 
and generations of all ages ! Lo ! men on earth are 
countless as angels in the sky ! And what a vision of 
beauty ! Fair as the angels are the forms fresh from 
the sepulchre. Ah! never more — no, never more — 
shall the sepulchre overshade them, or the dust enclose 
them. Behold their lifted hands in rapture clasped, 
and eyes that flash with fadeless fires, to see their 
coming Lord ! Oh, the ineffable ecstacy ! 

And yet, again ! Once more, the trumpet rings, and 
quicker still, the sure result appears! 0, wondrous 
change! And is it so? What, "in a moment, in the 
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ! " And is the 
prophecy out? Is the promise fulfilled? Are we 
changed? — all changed? — changed from corruption 
into incorruption ? from mortality into immortality? 
ISTo death, no sickness, no pain, no weariness, no 
infirmity, not even the slightest touch of evil to all 
eternity? Then surely "death is swallowed up in 
victory ! death, where is thy sting ? grave, where 
is thy victory ? Thanks be to God which giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Amen. Even so. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ! 
Come, Prince supreme! Adored Eedeemer! hail, all 
hail! Earth speak, from pole to pole! Speak out! 
on every rising breeze. Speak love ! speak praise ! 
speak joy! Sing, world! sing loud! Let all thy 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 391 

voices chant, hosanna! hosanna! hosanna! Shout, 
man ! aloud. Shout, all ye nations ! shout — shout hal- 
lelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! 

SECOND PART. 

Turning, more particularly, to the subjects of the 
resurrection, it would seem that the two great classes 
into which mankind are now divided, will be remarka- 
bly distinguished in the last day. These classes are — ■ 
the righteous and the wicked. 

Notice the time when the righteous shall be raised. 
This is to be previous to the resurrection of the wicked. 
So the Apostle declares to the Thessalonians — "the 
dead in Christ shall rise first." 

Notice, also, the appearance they will present, and 
how it must differ from their present appearance. 

First, the image of fallen Adam shall be removed 
from them. All traces of the evil of sin shall vanish, 
instantly and forever. 

No deformity will be seen : none that is natural — 
as the rickety head, the hump-back, the unequal limbs, 
or distorted hands and feet; and none that is acci- 
dental — as the mutilation or marring of any of the 
members. 

No defect will be manifest : there will be no cheer- 
less blind man, to lift his orbs to the light in vain ; 
no deaf man, to whom the sounding universe shall be 
silent as the sealed sepulchre; and no dumb man, 
longing, but unable, to talk to his friends and sing to 
his God. 

No predisposition or susceptibility to disease will 
remain. Parental influence will no longer occasion 
hereditary complaints. Every individual will possess 



892 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

an independent constitution — unimpaired by the vices 
of an ancestry as old as the world. 

And so, there shall be no tendency to corruption 
and death. " Flesh and blood shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God; neither shall corruption inherit 
incorruption." 

These are the conditions of the natural body. They 
are all " of the earth, earthy" — the lineaments of a 
sinful progenitor. The righteous will be as free from 
all such marks of evil, in the resinrection, as they 
could have been if sin had never been known. 

But, the positive view invites us. Having noticed 
what shall not appear, let us glance at what shall 
appear. 

Leaving the image of the first Adam in the grave, 
the righteous shall rise in the image of the second 
Adam — the Lord from heaven. "And so it is written, 
the first man Adam was made a living soul ; the last 
Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that 
was not first which is spiritual, but that which is 
natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The 
first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is 
the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are 
they also that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, such 
are they also that are heavenly. And as we have 
borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the 
image of the heavenly." 

But, what is "the image of the heavenly?" This 
cannot be minutely described. It might be fancied — 
but fancy can never supply the place of truth. We 
wish the truth. 

St. John has said, in this relation — "Beloved, now 
are we the sons of God, and it cloth not yet appeal 
what we shall be, but we know that when he shall 



THE DESTRUCTION OE DEATH. 393 

appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as 
he is." Certainly this passage refers to the body, as 
well as the soul : to the body, indeed, especially. So 
regarded, it settles the question. We cannot now 
ascertain the particulars of the resurrection-consti- 
tution. 

Nevertheless, a few facts are revealed, in this con- 
nexion, of great interest. They are found in the 
chapter before us. Here St. Paul presents four distinct 
properties of the new body, in striking contrast to the 
circumstances of our current condition. "It is sown 
in corruption, it is raised in incorruption ; it is sown 
in dishonor, it is raised in glory ; it is sown in weak- 
ness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, 
it is raised a spiritual body." Thus we are informed 
that the body of the righteous is to be incorruptible, 
glorious, powerful, and spiritual. Let us look, for a 
moment, at each of these points. 

Incorruptible. Once in existence, all-perfect, so it 
shall remain forever. Or, if imperfect in degree, and 
so susceptible of change, it shall only be in the way 
of improvement. Pure in itself, and sphered in the 
midst of all purities, neither internal weakness nor 
external force shall ever induce the slightest semblance 
of decay. Death shall never see it, much less, touch it. 

Glorious. Various kinds of glory pertain to the 
human form. For instance, there is the general sym- 
metry — fall stature and fine proportion of parts : giving 
dignity of attitude, with ease and grace of motion. 
There is, also, the more specific symmetry of facial 
features — the fair outline of each, and harmonious 
adjustment of all: with the blending tints of com- 
plexion, and the quick expressions of countenance, 
disclosing, in happy assemblage, the lovely attributes 



394 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

of beauty. These allusions may suffice to intimate the 
glory of the righteous in the resurrection. The con- 
trast is obvious. Universal symmetry and beauty will 
displace all deformity, and universal completeness be 
the substitute for all defect. Some of our present 
members may, indeed, be wanting, and other members 
may be added — we know not : but of this we may be 
assured, that the basis will be the same, and the object, 
the consummation of glory. Over all, or from the 
midst of all, may be a radiation corresponding with 
many scriptural suggestions. Then "they that be wise 
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and 
they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for- 
ever and ever." Then "shall the righteous shine forth 
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." So shall 
they be, as St. John expresses it, like Jesus himself — 
who now shines all over heaven, as he frequently illus- 
trated select spots on earth. And so shall the vision 
of Paul be realized: "If children, then heirs; heirs 
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we 
sutler with him, that we may be also glorified together. 
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time 
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation 
of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the 
sons of God." Oh, what a manifestation that will be — 
the effulgence of the glory of the sons of God ! 

Powerful, All vital energies will be abundant — 
inexhaustible. All active energies will be vastly in- 
creased — enlarging the bounds of noble achievement, 
and preventing the fatigue and danger which now 
result from protracted and strenuous exertion. Besides 
as already hinted, there may be additional capabilities 
entirely novel and of great importance. For instance, 



THE DESTRUCTION OP DEATH. 395 

after their resurrection and change, the righteous are 
to be "caught up — in the clouds, to meet the Lord in 
the air." Whatever accompanying instrumentality 
may be involved in this statement, it certainly implies, 
on any consistent interpretation of it, the exercise of a 
new faculty on the part of the saints. In this, as in 
other respects, they shall resemble Christ himself — 
who, when he ascended from Olivet, arose unwinged 
and unaided, easily and swiftly returning to his proper 
home. And so may it be, in regard to other faculties. 
In all probability, the difference between the feebleness 
of an infant and the utmost might of Sampson, is not 
tit to be employed even as a momentary symbol of the 
difference between the "weakness" of the body that 
now T is, and the "power" of that which is to come. 
And as to any anticipation of comparative tenuity, as 
an objection to this view, it may be remarked, in 
accordance with the select retreats of all great forces — 
the less gross, the more powerful. 

Spiritual. This distinction is understood, by most 
Biblical expositors, as referring to the very refined and 
purified condition of the resurrection body: and its 
independency of the means of subsistence necessary 
in our present estate. In common conversation, how- 
ever, the opinion is not unfrequently met, that the 
bodies of the saints will be literally and strictly spirit- 
ual — not material, in any sense, but absolutely imma- 
terial. I cannot do otherwise than regard this notion 
as at variance with both reason and revelation. Not- 
withstanding the want of time to dwell upon it, a few 
counter thoughts may be suggested. 

If the new body should not be material, there would 
be no resurrection. The substance to be raised is, of 
course, that which is buried: and, as nothing but 



396 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

matter is buried, nothing but matter shall be raised. 
If spirit take the place of matter, that is not a resur- 
rection, but, a substitution — a new creation. 

Again: the phrase "spiritual body," literally under- 
stood, is self-contradictory. Body does not belong to 
spirit ; but is a property of matter. If I am asked — 
Why did God create matter ? I answer : for these two 
reasons — to make bodies for spirits, and worlds for 
bodies. Both bodies and worlds may be infinitely varied, 
but, through all changes, they remain the same material 
substance. The attributes of spirit are thought, feel- 
ing, and volition. If a body could be composed of 
thoughts, feelings, and volitions, there would be some 
propriety in speaking literally of a "spiritual body;" 
but as this is impossible, the phrase must, of course, 
be figuratively accepted. Thus accepted, it means, 
simply, a material body so refined and purified as to 
answer all the purposes of the spirit. 

Again: if the new body should not be a material 
organization, human nature, instead of being restored 
to its original perfection, would be exchanged for 
another mode of being. Its very identity would be 
lost. The creature still called man, instead of being 
composed of matter and spirit, as Adam was, and all 
his children have been, and our Saviour himself is, 
would be formed of two spirits — one a body, and the 
other a soul : an appropriation of the same substance 
to heterogeneous offices, and a commingling of agency 
and instrumentality utterly unintelligible, and, to me, 
incredible. 

I return, then, to what is held as the true meaning 
of the Apostle, in the phrase "spiritual body." Look 
at the contrast. "It is sown a natural body" — impaired 
by sin, under sentence of death, hard to keep alive, 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 397 

fretted with infirmities, gross in itself and sustained 
by gross food, ever renewing its ever-failing strength, 
until it fails forever: but, it shall be raised a " spiritual 
body"- — free from sin, fearless of death, teeming with 
immortality, with no infirmity, no grossness or need 
of gross support, full of elements and combinations 
adapting it to all possible spiritual demands in all 
immensity and to all eternity. 

But, it may be objected — how can bodies so different 
be formed of the same substance ? Nothing is easier. 
The changes of which the Apostle speaks are not 
essential. They do not destroy the constitution, but 
modify the condition. For instance — here is a man 
who, according to the common course of events, must 
die. Suppose the Almighty to say to him — live 
forever ! Would this decree turn his body into a spirit ? 
Glorify his body — would that change it into a spirit ? 
Multiply its power a hundred fold — would that make 
it a spirit ? Refine it, purify it, even to the consistency 
and brilliancy of light — would that cause it to become 
a spirit ? Surely not. The simple review of the items 
is enough. Improvement is all that is contemplated : 
and this is obviously practicable. However "vile" the 
body may be, in its present estate, it is an easy thing 
for Christ to fashion it "like unto his glorious body" — 
without changing its nature — "according to the work- 
ing whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto 
himself." 

But, proceeds the objector — does not the Apostle 
assert plainly that "there is a natural body, and there 
is a spiritual body?" True: but he does not mean, 
neither does he say, that there are two bodies, of dif- 
ferent substances. Rather, his meaning is, there are 
two bodies, of the same substance, but in different 



398 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

conditions. The objector confounds the theological 
terms natural and spiritual with the philosophical terms 
material and immaterial. This is a great error. If 
the Apostle had said — there is a material body, and 
there is an immaterial body — the objection would have 
been proper and forcible. But he merely says — 
"there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body:" 
just as he elsewhere speaks of the "natural man" and 
the "spiritual" man; implying, in both cases, not 
bodies and men of different substances, but bodies 
and men, the same in substance, but in different 
conditions. 

But, still persists the objector — once more : does not 
the Apostle distinctly declare, that " flesh and blood 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God?" True, again: 
but are there no other combinations of matter than 
these two — flesh and blood? May not the Creator 
modify matter as he will ? Has he not already given 
it innumerable forms ? Look out upon the universe, 
and answer. Behold the endless elementary and 
organic variety! Hear the Apostle himself, on this 
very topic : "But some man will say, how are the dead 
raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou 
fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except 
it die : and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not 
that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance 
of wheat, or of some other grain : but God giveth it a 
body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own 
body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is 
one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, 
another of fishes, and another of birds. There are 
also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the 
glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the ter- 
restrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and 



THE DESTRUCTION OE DEATH. 899 

another glory of the moon, and another glory of the 
stars ; for one star differeth from another star in glory. 
So also is the resurrection of the dead." Most mar- 
vellously, this admirahle passage has been often per- 
verted to the support and illustration of unjust distinc- 
tions in the society of heaven — the eternal perpetuation 
there of the evils which so greatly distract and afflict 
us here. To my own mind, however, nothing can be 
more evident, than that the Apostle refers to all these 
different bodies, vegetable and animal, terrestrial and 
celestial, on purpose to show that, as matter may be, 
and actually is, so wonderfully diversified, there can 
be no difficulty in believing that the human body may 
be changed into all the beautiful conditions contem- 
plated by the resurrection, and yet remain material 
still. Even if changed from "flesh and blood" into 
azure air and golden light, it would continue as exclu- 
sively material as ever. 

But, if this answer to the objection were less com- 
plete than it is, there is another which might take its 
place. That is — the Apostle may have meant that 
"flesh and blood," in their present condition, "shall 
not inherit the kingdom of God" — shall not carry their 
current corruptions into the kingdom of God : for he 
immediately adds, as though in the way of explana- 
tion — "neither shall corruption inherit incorruption." 
And, if we should agree upon this as the right con- 
struction, then we could understand Job literally, when 
he says — "In my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall 
see for myself, and my eyes shall behold and not 
another." 

This view of the first class of the subjects of the 
resurrection is, however, after all, but a partial one. 
It needs the comprehension of certain other persons, 



400 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

not positively righteous — persons who, for reasons 
beyond their control, know little or nothing of the 
will of God in this world, and yet must be regarded as 
heirs of salvation in the world to come. I allude, of 
course, to maniacs, idiots, and infants. 

As to maniacs, their title to this classification, de- 
pends upon the question of their responsibility. Respon- 
sible cases must be rejected. They are instances that 
"some men's sins are open beforehand, going before 
to judgment." Irresponsible cases, on the other hand, 
are to be admitted, as without reason for condemnation. 

As to idiots, their condition is manifestly the conse- 
quence of imperfect physical organization. A good 
mechanic cannot perform good work with bad tools. 
A good musician cannot play well on discordant instru- 
ments. And yet, bad tools do not deprive the me- 
chanic of his skill — but merely prevent his showing it. 
And so, discordant instruments do not impair the 
musician's merit — but merely hinder the display of it. 
In like manner, the malformation of an idiot's brain, 
or its imbecile or disordered action, cannot essentially 
affect his soul — but simply obstructs its proper agency. 
His soul, doubtless, is equal to other souls : and only 
waits for release from the body to demonstrate its 
equality. As naturally irresponsible, therefore, it seems 
to me a necessary inference from scriptural principles, 
that all idiots are to be ranked with the redeemed. 

As to infants, the popular impression appears to be, 
that they will be raised as they are buried. Nothing 
is more common than for painters and sculptors to 
represent happy families ascending from the grave in 
all the relative proportions of actual life — aged fathers 
and mothers, youthful sons and daughters, and sweet 
little babes. Surely, there is no rational or scriptural 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 401 

foundation for this fancy. As the bodies of the saints 
are all to be conformed to one model, they must all 
possess the standard points of perfect stature — what- 
ever minor variations may confer individual charac- 
teristics. 

One admitted fact is sufficient, it would seem, to 
correct this error. I mean — that the infant's soul, 
from the time of death until the morning of the resur- 
rection, will continually expand its faculties and enlarge 
its accumulations of knowledge, wisdom, and all possi- 
ble spiritual energies. At the time of the resurrection, 
the soul of an infant a thousand years in paradise or 
heaven, will be far in advance of the soul of an adult 
recently welcomed there. How incongruous the notion 
that the more ancient and illustrious spirit shall be 
invested with the pretty helplessness of a babe, and 
the newly disembodied one resume the fullness of 
majestic manhood! Or, without this or any more 
extreme contrast, how unworthy is the thought of 
reducing to the enclosure of infantile imbecility the 
mighty mental and moral energies which have been 
sweeping through immensity, and growing and strength- 
ening in all their flight, for haply -five, or even ten 
thousand years ! Take the grandest eagle, from his 
grandest flight, above the clouds, and beyond vision 
of the earth: bring him down through the darkness, 
and still down to the dust, and shut him up in a close 
wicker cage, where his eye shall have no range, and 
his head must be drawn down upon his breast, and his 
wings must be curved tight about his sides — and this 
is no humiliation at all, in comparison with the sup- 
posed inconsistency of a sublime spirit, developed and 
accomplished as one of the princes of eternity, and 
then brought down to the tomb to be wrapt about with 

26 



402 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

the rosy softness and tremulous dimples of a babe. 
Innumerable millions of those who died in infancy, 
now hold rank in the world of bliss and glory with 
the most venerable patriarchs of our race : and in the 
resurrection will doubtless assume, with them, the 
noblest type of dignity and power. If any should 
imagine a difficulty here, it is only needful to remem- 
ber that the infant form in the grave contains the germ 
of perfect manhood; and that the resurrection will be 
merely the substitution of instant development for the 
slow process of growth. All first things were thus 
created : and so all last, better, and imperishable things 
shall be re-created. 

Let these remarks, then, suffice in relation to this 
part of our theme. The first class of the subjects of 
the resurrection may thus be regarded as including all 
the righteous and all the irresponsible. 

THIRD PART. 

As one who leads an oriental caravan through a new 
and pleasant country, and makes a longer journey 
than he contemplated when starting — so I, while 
directing the thoughts of my beloved congregation 
from point to point, in the interesting and to me hith- 
erto untrodden subject of the resurrection, have pro- 
longed our course far beyond my original expectation.* 
But, as the captain of the caravan, because of the 
attractions of the way, and the extension of his knowl- 
edge and commerce, does not regret the protraction of 
his march — so I, and I trust my respected hearers also, 
at least in part, do not grieve that I commenced the 



1835. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 403 

consideration of the doctrine ; but, rather, rejoice in 
the opening of some views, and the collection of some 
ideas which, however old and trite to persons who 
have more faithfully studied and more thoroughly 
understood the Book of God, are to me neither stale 
nor unimportant. Still, as the most cheering stage of 
the chieftain's venture is that in which, from some 
hill-top to which the caravan has slowly ascended, he 
overlooks the great commercial emporium, with all its 
tokens of prosperous trade — the towers and palaces, 
domes and minarets, in the city; the gardens and 
orchards, vineyards and pastures, in the rear ; the river 
and bay, the barges and shipping, in front — the place 
where he is to dispose of his goods and rest from the 
fatigues of the way — so I am especially glad that, from 
the point we have now reached in this investigation, 
it is easy to discern the near and welcome conclusion, 
where we may calculate our gain, and indulge in fitting 
repose. 

Having noticed, therefore, the first class of the sub- 
jects of the resurrection, our minds would naturally 
turn to the second. But it is necessary, before we 
proceed to this, to introduce an intermediate event — an 
incident connected with the resurrection — the change 
of the living masses identified with the risen saints. 

You will observe, then, that death is not to be 
destroyed by the resurrection alone. At the time of 
the resurrection, the population of the earth, in all 
probability, will be greater than it is now. Naturally, 
that generation will have the same tendency toward 
death that we have : and yet, not a single individual 
belonging to it shall die. Like Enoch and Elijah, the 
whole multitude will escape the ancient and common 
doom. They shall be changed. Thus speaks our 



404 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

Apostle: " Behold, I shew you a mystery: we shall 
not all sleep, but we shall all he changed, in a moment, 
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump : for the 
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall he raised incor- 
ruptible, and we shall be changed." 

"We shall be changed" — that is, Christians. The 
change of the wicked who may then live, will be 
deferred, it is to be supposed, until after the resurrec- 
tion of the wicked. The first change will be confined 
to those who correspond with the first class of the sub- 
jects of the resurrection: and, in its effects, will be 
equivalent to the resurrection. The changed, like the 
risen, will be incorruptible, glorious, powerful, and 
spiritual. "For" — continues the Apostle — "this cor- 
ruptible must put on incomrption, and this mortal 
must put on immortality." 

Glance, then, at the physical characteristics of those 
who shall undergo this transformation. Instead of the 
similarity of death, they will be found with all the 
diversities of life. 

All varieties of complexion, doubtless, will then 
remain — from the deepest black, through all interve- 
ning shades, to the purest white and red. All these 
colors must pass through the change. 

All varieties of stature, also, will still appear — some 
sectional, from the shortest Esquimaux to the tallest 
Patagonian ; some occasional, as among ourselves, from 
the dwarf to the giant; but most, dependent on age, 
from the new-born babe to the mature man. All these 
must pass through the change. 

All varieties of health, too, will continue — the ma- 
jority of men moving about apparently in perfect 
soundness, full of strength and spirit; and the rest 
languishing, as now, under all kinds of disease ; some 



THE DESTEUCTION OP DEATH. 405 

of ttiem seeming just ready to breathe their last breath, 
and be no more. All these must pass through the 
change. 

All varieties of defect, also, of deformity, mutila- 
tion, and derangement, must be contemplated as still 
extant— the lame, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the 
distorted, the limbless, the idiot, the lunatic, and all 
similar classes. All these must pass through the 
change. 

And now, having slightly opened this range, let us 
agree on these indisputable points : 1. However varied 
their condition, the living righteous and their associates 
shall all be changed : 2. The change shall be equiva- 
lent to a resurrection : 3. It is as easy, so to speak, for 
God to change one as another— a cripple, as a blind 
man ; a sick, as a healthy man ; an infant, as an old 
man ; a black, as a white man : and, 4. All are to be 
fashioned after one model — the Lord Jesus Christ: 
receiving every attribute of perfection — maturity, 
beauty, and grace ; or, in the terms so often repeated, 
incorruption, glory, power, and spirituality. Agreeing 
here, we may pleasantly and profitably proceed. 

And, see ! "Ina moment" — not like the slow chis- 
eling of a statue by an artist: "in the twinkling of 
an eye" — as easy to God as the unconscious motion of 
a man's eyelids: "at the last trump" — by a single 
breath thrilling the world with immortality : "we shall 
be changed." 

The first trumpet having sounded, land and sea 
having given up their hosts of the righteous dead, 
every horizon being thronged with their brilliant 
array — it may well be imagined that the living children 
of God will stand about their trembling homes, half 



406 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

in terror and half in hope, not yet recovered from the 
vast surprise — heaven and earth so suddenly illumined 
with such an overpowering presence! — and yet, en- 
chanted by the vision of Christ and his angels above, 
and of all the saints around, longing to be made like 
them, and kindling into an ecstacy with the expecta- 
tion that they soon shall be — when, as suddenly — 

The poor black man, a moment before the slave of 
his fellow, shall stand by the side of his master, (him- 
self haply unchanged) a paragon of perfection, a mani- 
fest son of God, transparent with a purity that shall 
never be defiled, and radiant with a glory that shall 
never be obscured. The infant, of one moment, shall 
be his splendid father's peer, the next. The pale and 
emaciate invalid, whose eyes the fingers of tearful love 
shall just be closing for the long sleep of death — will 
turn the touch away, and start from the glowing couch 
with the fullness and flush of everlasting life. The 
man who never saw before — shall see, at a glance, the 
utmost glory of heaven and earth, of time and eternity. 
The man who never heard before, who merely quivered 
at the trumpet of the resurrection — shall catch that 
second blast, and compass then the music of the 
universe. The man who never spoke before — shall 
charm the saints and make the angels pause to wonder 
at his eloquence. The man who never walked a step, 
or stood erect, before — shall glide up the mountain, or 
sweep across the sea, with the beauty of the sunshine 
and the lightness of a shade. While the sad idiot, the 
man who never thought before, instantly teeming with 
the activities of all released faculties — shall be enrap- 
tured into conscious recognition of his Father and 
God : and the wild lunatic, the man who never rested 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 407 

before — shall find his first composure amidst the com- 
mon excitement, and look upon the scene around him 
as the only lucid interval in the history of the world. 

The miracles of Christ, in that one moment, will 
infinitely excel all he ever wrought during the years 
of his humiliation. They will excel in area — occupy- 
ing, not Judea alone, hut, the whole globe. They will 
excel in number — millions to one. They will excel in 
character — removing, not merely a single imperfection, 
but, all imperfections. And, they will excel in conse- 
quences — not ending in second death, but, enduring, 
with all their felicities, forever and ever. ~No happy 
Bartimeus shall reclose his eyes in the darkness of the 
tomb : no beloved Lazarus shall again put on the 
shroud he has once cast off: but, once like Christ, like 
Christ they shall remain to all eternity. 

In connexion with this great change, it were next in 
order to notice the triumph of the redeemed over their 
last enemy. But, we must recur to this in the sequel. 
For the present, it must suffice to say, that when the 
living righteous shall thus be changed, and added to 
the ranks of the resurrection, then a great prophecy 
shall be fulfilled, and short, but magnificent, anthems 
may be sung, in accordance with the succeeding verses 
of our Apostle: "So, when this corruptible shall have 
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on 
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying 
that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.. 
Death, where is thy sting ? Grave, where is^ thy 
victory ? The sting of death is sin ; and the strength 
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth 
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

And now, in pursuance of our plan, we must turn to 
the opposite class of the subjects of the resurrection-. 



408 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

Shadows here come over us. The interest grows 
solemn, awful — almost repulsively so. Brief treatment 
may be best. 

The resurrection of the wicked ! The first remark 
is this: There is no promise of improvement in the 
condition of the wicked, by the resurrection, in all the 
Bible ! 

How shall we interpret this silence ? It is designed 
that the righteous shall be glorified — and the design is 
announced. If a similar purpose were cherished, m 
behalf of the wicked, would it not be likewise pro- 
claimed ? 

But again — the Bible threatens the wicked with 
future punishment. What kind of punishment ? Spir- 
itual ? Why, then, should an accursed spirit be invested 
with a glorified body? Or, shall the punishment be 
physical ? Why, then, should the body be renewed in 
beauty, as if for heaven, only to be plunged into hell ? 

Besides, is it not appropriate to suffer in the body, 
for the evil deeds done in the body ? This is the law 
in this world — why should it not be in the next ? 

I confess that I see no reason why the body of the 
wicked should be improved ; and, of course, no reason 
for a promise of improvement. I interpret the silence, 
therefore, as against improvement. 

But we may go farther. The chapter before us con- 
tains one passage, supposed, by high authority, to break 
this silence. "As is the earthy, such are they also that 
are earthy ; and as is the heavenly, such are they also 
that are heavenly." The tense here, it is thought, 
should be changed from the present to the future ; so 
as to read— " As is the earthy, such shall be they also 
that are earthy ; and as is the heavenly, such shall be 
they also that are heavenly." The original allows this 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 409 

change, and the context agrees with it, if it does not 
require it, proceeding thus : "And, as we have borne 
the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image 
of the heavenly." 

If these views be correct, it is not difficult to con- 
ceive the condition of the wicked in that awful day. 

Observe the world. Mark the current condition of 
the wicked. See the image of the first sinner in every 
one of them. Notice the effects of ancestral vices, and 
of their own vices, under which they so constantly 
groan. Suppose the Almighty to arrest them, just as 
they are, and say to them — " Live thus forever ! " This 
is a clear, bold picture of what I mean. 

This one truth — if, indeed, it be a truth — opens a 
world of horrors. If any say — "We cannot believe that 
God will exercise his omnipotence in restoring to the 
wicked the same, or similar, degraded and miserable 
bodies in which they died : I have only to ask — Is it 
any more Scriptural or rational to believe that he will 
give them glorified bodies, only to cast them directly 
into everlasting burnings ? I seek consistency. 

What then ? How shall we contrast the two resur- 
rections? "When the deceased saints shall arise, and 
their living associates shall be changed, and the whole 
multitude of the redeemed shall stand forth in equal 
perfection — what a magnificent and illustrious spec- 
tacle will be witnessed ! But, when these shall all 
have been caught up into the air, and the still unemp- 
tied graves shall open at the command of the Son of 
God, and the transgressors of all lands and ages shall 
come up unimproved — self-condemned, self-abhorred, 
mortified, wretched, wrathful, cruel, blasphemous, and 
yet utterly imbecile — multiplying their trembling, 
weeping, wailing millions in the presence of their 



410 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

Judge and all his hosts — how unspeakably mournful 
will be that daVk reverse ! 

To these, however, as already intimated, must be 
added the living wicked. They too must be changed — 
not, indeed, as the righteous, but merely from mortality 
to immortality. Their change will be equivalent to the 
unimproving resurrection of their criminal predeces- 
sors. It will prevent them from dying — nothing 
more. As they shall be found, so they must remain 
forever. 

And, when thus the reprobate dead and living shall 
be made immortal together, tell me — will they have a 
song of victory to sing ? "Will they, like the holy, from 
plain to plain, from height to height, and from coast to 
coast, exchange their shouts of triumph ? Ah, no ! 
rather shall they conform to the prophecy of Christ — 
"Then shall they begin to say, to the mountains, Fall 
on us; and to the hills, Cover us:" adding, in the lan- 
guage of the Apocalypse, "Fall on us, and hide us 
from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and 
from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his 
wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? " And 
mark the force of the Saviour's statement: "Then 
shall they begin to say" — Alas! when and how shall 
they end? The mountains will not answer, the hills 
shall not respond, and so the despairing multitudes 
must still cry in vain, seeking a refuge, but finding none. 
Ah me ! if the rocks could answer, they would only 
exclaim — "When ye were called, your hearts were as 
hard as ours! Though God himself entreated, ye 
would not relent ! Now, ye melt — but we cannot : ye 
call, but it is too late!" Yet still the plaint will be 
heard, "Fall on us! fall on us! cover us! cover us 
from the wrath of the Lamb ! " 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 411 

But, turning from the subjects of the resurrection, 
let us now consider its purposes. These are two : 1. 
The Judgment: 2. The consummation of eternal 
retributions. A few words must suffice here. 

The Judgment. All men are to be judged, accord- 
ing to the deeds done in the body. They are to be 
assembled, it would seem, in a re-united state, body 
and soul, not on, but in the vicinity of, the earth. The 
whole scene of their history will be open at the deter- 
mination of their destiny. 

In some central and commanding position, we may 
imagine the throne and person of the Judge : on his 
right — the ranks of the redeemed: on his left — the 
crowd of the condemned: beyond and around all — 
the hosts of angels. 

Some passages, referring to the process of the judg- 
ment, suggest great minuteness of individual exami- 
nation. One of these reads thus — "Every idle word 
that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof 
in the day of judgment." Others indicate a quick 
collective decision — "Then shall the King say unto 
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world." And again — "Then shall 
he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from 
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
devil and his angels." Yet, even in each of these 
cases, there is a brief statement of the reasons for the 
decision. It may be, that a most particular disclosure 
of every individual case will precede and justify the 
final and general awards. 

As to the results ( of the judgment, these have been 
just stated. Another text, occurring in one of the 
connexions I have cited, sums up the results thus — 



412 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; 
but the righteous into life eternal." 

The Consummation of Eternal Retributions. The 
doctrine of the resurrection necessarily implies that 
even the righteous must be imperfect in constitution 
and condition, until the re-union of their spirits with 
material bodies. Else — why raise the body, at all? 
If happier without bodies than with them, doubtless 
they would remain without. But — the restoration of 
bodies is promised as one of the greatest blessings. 
Of course, it is necessary to the completion of bliss. 

This point wonderfully distinguishes Christianity 
from false religions — except Mohammedanism, which 
borrows the resurrection. Paganism considers the 
body a prison ; and its dissolution, as the glad emanci- 
pation of the captive spirit. The Bible vindicates the 
divine wisdom in the original construction of man, by 
teaching the necessity of a body to the perfection of 
the happiness of the soul, providing for the re-union, 
and anticipating it as a most desirable event. 

But, what is the ground of this necessity? It seems 
to me to be this — that heaven, like every other world 
in the universe, is material : that its pleasures are ma- 
terial as well as spiritual : and that, even if the spirit- 
ual could be enjoyed without a body, such an organism 
is indispensable to the enjoyment of the material. 
Indeed, I cannot conceive, and, therefore, cannot believe, 
that any world exists which is not material. A spiritual 
world, strictly speaking, appears to me an utter absur- 
dity — just as the notion of a spiritual body seems 
absurd. Bodies are the material mediators between 
pure spirits and the variously modified, but substan- 
tially homogeneous, material universe. And, doubtless, 
the perfection of the resurrection-body will be found 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 413 

in its organic and functional adaptation to the appre- 
hension of all elements and combinations of matter, 
actual and possible, to all eternity — a natural instru- 
mentality, needing no artificial aid, but sufficient of 
itself to all the demands of the spirit forever. 

But again : In order to the completion of the pun- 
ishment of the wicked, also, the resurrection is required. 
Many passages represent this punishment, not only as 
mental, but, also, as physical. Whether these repre- 
sentations are literal or figurative, is the only question. 
That they cannot be wholly figurative, is plain. If 
the bodies of the wicked be raised at all, they must 
suffer. If there were no such world as hell — still they 
could not escape suffering. Spiritual suffering would 
produce bodily suffering. But, besides its sympathy 
with the spirit, the relations of one body to other 
bodies, and to the sad sphere which must be allowed 
for their common habitation, would necessarily occasion 
suffering. 

Alas ! what visions of woe are opened here ! I allu- 
ded to them before — but shrink from them again. 
Think of the present susceptibility to pain ! Think 
of the wicked as raised with this susceptibility renewed, 
if not increased ! Think of the spiritual fire within 
them, and the material fire around them! And not 
one only, but millions — crying for a drop of water— 
and crying in vain ! Ah ! we cannot dwell on these 
things. "Would God that the people could be persuaded 
to flee from them. "0 that they were wise, that they 
understood this, that they would consider their latter 
end ! " " that my head were waters, and mine eyes 
a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night 
for the slain of the daughter of my people ! " 

And now, in conclusion, having thus noticed the 
certainty and reasonableness of the resurrection j its 



414 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

agents, subjects, and purposes; what a sublime and 
solemn contemplation challenges us all to the great 
work of co-operating with God in our entire and 
eternal redemption. 

Behold the scene of Judgment! The anthem of 
victory, sung by the saints, has died away. The cry 
of the wicked, to the mountains and hills, is at last 
suspended. The earth — the old and melancholy earth — 
see! there it hangs — motionless, empty, dreary, deso- 
late. No cloud in all its skyr.no breeze in all its air: 
no roll among its oceans : no surge along its shores : 
no tide or stream in its rivers : no gurgle among its 
fountains : no rustle in its forests ! There it hangs — 
without one human being on all its surface, or under 
its surface: every grave open, and its tenant gone; 
every house deserted; every ship abandoned! There 
it hangs — with its exhausted isles, continents, and pole- 
binding mountains; sponge-like, honeycombed, rid- 
dled; all cavernous and crumbling; covering with 
dust a thousand sinking Mnevehs, never to be exhu- 
med; even as the seas around, deepening into sudden 
whirlpools, suck down their myriad fleets, to float a 
plank or spar no more ! There it hangs — chilling with 
the universal abstraction of all inferior life; beasts, 
birds, fishes, reptiles, insects, dropping their forms and 
mingling with the common elements. There it hangs — 
waiting for the first flash of its purifying fires. Ah ! 
thou sad earth ! "What climes of crimes, and ages of 
outrages, have been thine ! And how hast thou grieved 
and groaned because of them ! It is well, thou shalt 
be consumed ! And yet, what holy love, what heavenly 
joy, have often hallowed and illumined both sky and 
landscape! "What martyrs hast thou bred! What 
angels hast thou welcomed ! And how have thy sacred 
hills and dales been honored by the voice and blest by 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 415 

the blood of the Son of God ! It is well, thou shalt 
be renewed! Renew thy fairest form, thy richest 
bloom, and show the virtue of a Saviour's power. 

But, now let us turn to the vast assembly, arranged 
for the Judgment. Behold the glorious Arbiter! — 
throned, crowned, robed, sceptred, with all the indis- 
putable and incomparable majesty of the Man who is 
God. Behold his celestial attendants! angels and 
archangels; cherubim and seraphim; thrones, and 
dominions, and principalities, and powers ; rank beyond 
rank, order above order, circling wide and high in the 
rear of the magnificent tribunal, and sweeping away, 
on either hand, to encompass the immense divisions 
of humanity before it. Behold these divisions them- 
selves ! How decided their distinctions, how complete 
their contrast. 

Lo! on the right, the Children of God! — the Heirs 
of God ! — the Joint-heirs with Christ !— the Kings and 
Priests unto God and his Father ! How like their 
Judge ! How like each other ! What a bloom is on 
them ! — and its beauty shall never fade, for it is the 
bloom of "incorruption." What a brightness is about 
them ! — and its clearness shall never be obscured, for 
it is the radiance of essential "glory." What dignity 
of port and bearing they present! — and its serenity 
shall never be disturbed, for it is the unconscious 
expression of inexhaustible " power." And so, what 
a transparent purity adorns them ! — a purity never to 
be stained, for it is the nearest approach of the material 
to the "spiritual," and only enfolds the spirit to define 
its presence and perfect its bliss. vision of love and 
splendor ! Not the slightest memorial of sin or death 
is there. Eo vestige of deformity, defect, or disease — 
not even a grey hair, nor a wrinkle, nor the transient 



416 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

shadow of a frown — is there. Nothing but beauty, 
the highest and holiest beauty, perfect and imperisha- 
ble beauty, the very divinest personal and social 
beauty — is there. And yet, no pride is there — but, all 
perfection without pride. There are the eyes to search 
all things — the voluntary microscopes and telescopes 
of the universe. There are the ears to turn at will, 
and with equal ease of perception, from the softest 
tinkle of stirring atoms to the mightiest chime of con- 
cordant worlds. There are the forms to bow, with the 
stillness of statues, in adoration at the throne ; or glide, 
like the light, among the outposts of space — flashing 
from star to star, and from system to system, as the 
thought-bearers of God, the ministers of truth, and 
love, and joy, to spheres the most remote and life in 
all its modes. All hail ! ye saints of the Most High ! 
All hail ! ye disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus ! 
All hail ! ye earnest aspirants, ye successful ascendants, 
to man's true destiny ! Henceforth, the course of your 
immortality is open and free. God and all the works 
of God invite you to unrestrained communion. Eej oice ! 
rejoice ! your Saviour waits to speak your welcome 
home. 

But lo ! on the left, what dire reverse of all ! Behold 
the hordes of crime! How unlike Christ! How 
unlike the saints ! How unlike each other ! How 
common and yet how different their woe ! Kings are 
there. Heroes are there. The rich, the renowned, 
and those who were once deemed beautiful, are there. 
There, too, are the poor and oppressed — the sufferers 
of all classes, who, notwithstanding their sufferings, 
still scorned the proffers of salvation. All lands, all 
ao-es, all generations, and all conditions, are represented 
there: all condemned, all dismayed, all agonized: full 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 417 

of bitter remorse, and awful foreboding, and vain self- 
reproaches. Why bloom they not ? Why shine they 
not ? Why droop they all, abashed at every glance ? 
Why look so coarse and gross : so weak, infirm, and 
helpless? Why stand they speechless — dumb, quite 
dumb, all dumb : as though their hearts were already 
touched by the second death, and their faces with the 
paleness of eternal despair? See! there — among the 
saints — every countenance is lifted and smiling: not, 
indeed, in triumph over the wicked, but purely because 
of their own abounding bliss. Alas ! no smile is here — 
no ray of peace or hope. Knit brows, lurid or tearful 
eyes, lips compressed or quivering, arms sternly folded 
or stretched forth with wringing hands — such signs 
alone are seen. God forbid that a sinner saved should 
boast over sinners lost ! And yet, they deserve their 
punishment — or they could not be punished. Ay, they 
were infidels, idolaters, or hypocrites ; blasphemers or 
sabbath-breakers; dishonorers of parents; murderers, 
persecutors, oppressors; adulterers, fornicators, sedu- 
cers; robbers, cheats, swindlers, extortioners; liars, 
slanderers, impostors, false-witnesses; covetous sche- 
mers, planners, intriguers — seeking their own gain in 
their neighbor's loss; drunkards, revelers, peace- 
breakers ; neglecters, despisers, or opposers of religion, 
and of everything holy ; abusing their whole probation, 
sneering at God's promises, scoffing at his threatenings, 
trampling on his laws, laughing at his love, rejecting 
his Son, repulsing his Spirit, returning malice for 
goodness, crimes for blessings, and unrelenting impeni- 
tency for unwearied mercy. Yes — they deserve their 
punishment : and they know it, they feel it, they need 
none to tell it, the consciousness of it turns, and 
twists, and gnaws within them, like the worm that 



418 THE DESTRUCTION OE DEATH. 

never dies. Weep over them ! Oh, weep over them ! 
Forget your own delights, ye happy saints ! and weep 
over the misery of your fellow-men ! Behold, in them, 
the types, the images, the perfect and perpetual memo- 
rials of your own sins ! Your sinful thoughts — there 
they gleam ! Your sinful passions — there they glare ! 
Your sinful habits — see- the wrecks they have occa- 
sioned! What haggard forms ! What dismal visages ! 
What ugliness abhorred! What loathsomeness of 
foulness and of pain ! Woe ! woe unto them ! You 
repented — but they did not. You are redeemed — but 
they are not. Weep over them ! What though they 
derided and cursed you, on earth ? Weep over them ! 
Some of them were once your friends — weep over 
them ! Some, your relatives — weep over them ! And 
ye, holy angels ! — weep over them ! Ye ministering 
spirits, that ever rejoiced over penitents ! — weep, now, 
over all the finally impenitent ! And thou ! O Judge 
of all! thou loving Jesus! thou great and gracious 
Saviour ! thou who didst die to save them ! — is it too 
late to save ? Thou who didst weep over Jerusalem — 
hast thou now no tears for this mightier and more 
wretched multitude? Is mercy clean gone forever? 
Alas ! too late ! too late ! — and mercy is no more ! 

See! the Judge rises! Hark! he addresses tht 
righteous — " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
the world!" And again, turning to the wicked, the 
sentence that cannot be withheld smites them from 
their standing — "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ! " 

Lo ! they have gone — all gone : not one is left, no, 
not one ! They have sunk, down, down, down : and 
are still sinking — lower, and yet lower : but their cries 



THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 419 

are no longer heard, their groaning is too deep to dis- 
turb the scene around. Let darkness cover them ! let 
distance withhold them! let silence forget them! 
Never, to all eternity, let us witness again such sin and 
woe ! One lesson like this is enough for the universe, 
and enough forever! 

But, Christian brethren! a brighter prospect now 
enchants our vision! Lo! the glorious Arbiter, and 
all his hosts, prepare for the ascension to heaven ! The 
returning retinue will be far more magnificent than 
that which descended — illustrated by the new and 
immortal attractions of the saints. And why, now 
that they are all in readiness for the transit, is it longer 
delayed ? See ! They turn to look for the last time 
on the old and hoary earth. There it still hangs — 
motionless, empty, dreary, desolate. But, at the lifted 
hand of Christ, its central fires flash forth, and all the 
horizon fills with instant flame. Lo ! the near moon 
reddens like blood, and the distant sun darkens as if 
in dread eclipse. And now, the flame subsides, the 
sun brightens, the moon pales, the new heaven expands 
its azure sphere, and, fair within, the new earth globes 
its living green in golden light, showing a fadeless 
Eden and a sinless race. Hark! how the morning 
stars, reminded of the scenes of old, again sing 
together, while all the sons of God shout aloud for 
joy ! And hark ! how the saints, remembering all the 
reign of sin, respond with the chant — " Death, where 
now thy sting? Grave, where now thy victory?" 

Turning again, they now commence their flight. 
Who would not attend it ? Now, the Lord Jesus feels 
the fullness of "the joy that was set before him." 
Now, he is leading "many sons to glory." Now, 
indeed, he is carrying "captivity captive." Behold 



420 THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH. 

them, rising — higher, and yet higher : prolonging their 
grand career — farther, and yet farther: until, at last, 
the City of God extends its lines and lifts its towers 
before them ! Swift messengers have preceded them, 
and all things wait for the triumphant entrance. Wide 
stand the gates ! Bright shine the streets ! The Trees 
of Life beckon them to come, and the Eivers of Life 
run to meet them. All the home-population is arrayed 
for the reception — some, without the walls ; some, on 
the walls ; and some along every converging avenue, 
from the gates to the throne. As the procession 
draws near, harmonious shouts of greeting answer 
each other, and harps and trumpets pour their strains 
of joy. So they unite their ranks, and move together 
to the Place of God. There Christ approaches the 
throne. There stand the saints with him — and all 
around, the angels wait the closing spectacle. Hark ! 
"Father! here am I, and those whom thou hast given 
me. Death, their last enemy, is destroyed!" The 
Son speaks. The Father hears and smiles. The saints 
exult. The angels sing. And all is heaven forever ! 



Such, substantially, was the young man's theory of 
the resurrection and its incidents. It still seems con- 
sistent : but a new discussion would involve the con- 
sideration of certain other themes, which now somewhat 
embarrass the subject. 



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